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PARP and Cancer — If It's Broke, Don't Fix It

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: With apologies to Nietzsche, who once said “that which does not kill us makes us stronger,” sometimes that which does not kill weakens us so the next blow will be lethal. In this issue of the Journal, O'Shaughnessy and colleagues1 describe a study in which poly(adenosine diphosphate–ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition was added to cytotoxic chemotherapy in an effort to set breast cancers up for that “next blow” (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00540358). PARP inhibitors represent an exciting new therapeutic direction in oncology: the rational targeting of tumor-cell vulnerability during DNA repair.Cellular DNA is under constant assault; over 150 genes, in multiple . . .

Source: New England Journal of Medicine

DOI: 10.1056/nejme1012546

Authors: Lisa A. Carey, Norman E. Sharpless

Institutions: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: PARP inhibition in cancer therapy

Subfield: Oncology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences