How are Double Strand Breaks Targeted in Cancer Therapy?
Given their central role in maintaining genomic integrity, DSB repair mechanisms are attractive targets for cancer therapy. PARP inhibitors are a class of drugs that target cancer cells with defective HR, such as those with BRCA mutations. By inhibiting PARP, these drugs induce synthetic lethality, selectively killing cancer cells while sparing normal cells. Additionally, radiation therapy intentionally induces DSBs to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells.
