How Does DNA Repair Inhibition Work in Cancer Therapy?
In cancer therapy, DNA damage is often induced by treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. By inhibiting DNA repair mechanisms, these treatments can become more effective. For example, PARP inhibitors target the enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), which is involved in repairing single-strand breaks. When PARP is inhibited, single-strand breaks can evolve into more lethal double-strand breaks, especially in cancer cells deficient in other repair pathways like homologous recombination.
