Work

Synthetic lethality: the road to novel therapies for breast cancer

Year: 2016

Type: review

Abstract: When the BRCA1 and BRCA2 tumour suppressor genes were identified in the early 1990s, the immediate implications of mapping, cloning and delineating the sequence of these genes were that individuals in families with a BRCA gene mutation could be tested for the presence of a mutation and their risk of developing cancer could be predicted. Over time though, the discovery of BRCA1 and BRCA2 has had a much greater influence than many might have imagined. In this review, we discuss how the discovery of BRCA1 and BRCA2 has not only provided an understanding of the molecular processes that drive tumourigenesis but also reignited an interest in therapeutically exploiting loss-of-function alterations in tumour suppressor genes.

Source: Endocrine Related Cancer

DOI: 10.1530/erc-16-0228

Authors: Kiranjit K Dhillon, Ilirjana Bajrami, Toshiyasu Taniguchi, Christopher J Lord

Institutions: Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Institute of Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Now, Cancer Research UK

Language: English

Topic: BRCA gene mutations in cancer

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze