What is Synthetic Lethality and How is it Utilized in Cancer Therapy?
Synthetic lethality occurs when the simultaneous impairment of two genes leads to cell death, whereas the impairment of either gene alone does not. In cancer therapy, this concept is exploited by using PARP inhibitors to target cancer cells deficient in HR. PARP inhibitors block the repair of single-strand breaks, leading to DSBs that cannot be effectively repaired in HR-deficient cells, causing cell death. This selective killing of cancer cells spares normal cells, reducing side effects.
