Leveraging homologous recombination repair deficiency in sarcoma. 2023

Dea Slade, and Joanna I Loizou
Department of Medical Biochemistry, Max Perutz Labs, Vienna Biocenter, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Personalised oncology is at the forefront of cancer research. The goal of personalised oncology is to selectively kill cancer cells while minimising side effects on normal tissue. This can be achieved by identifying and targeting cancer vulnerabilities that distinguish it from normal cells. Many cancers are deficient in high-fidelity DNA repair pathways that maintain genomic stability, such as homologous recombination (HR). Such cancers are highly sensitive to targeted therapies that induce DNA damage or inhibit DNA repair pathways. A notable example and a poster child of personalised oncology are PARP1/2 inhibitors (PARPi) that selectively kill HR-deficient (HRD) cancer cells by preventing repair of DNA gaps or single-strand breaks (SSBs) (Slade, 2020). Inhibitors of cell cycle checkpoints such as CHK1 and WEE1 can also eliminate HRD cancers by pushing cancer cells through the cell cycle despite unrepaired DNA damage and causing death by mitotic catastrophe (Groelly et al, 2022). PARPi have been approved for the treatment of ovarian, breast, pancreatic, and prostate cancer but other cancer types with an HRD signature (HRDness) may also respond to PARPi treatment. Planas-Paz et al (2023) now show that many sarcomas show HRDness and respond to PARP1/2 and WEE1 inhibitors, thus offering a new personalised oncology approach for this treatment-refractory cancer.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D004249 DNA Damage Injuries to DNA that introduce deviations from its normal, intact structure and which may, if left unrepaired, result in a MUTATION or a block of DNA REPLICATION. These deviations may be caused by physical or chemical agents and occur by natural or unnatural, introduced circumstances. They include the introduction of illegitimate bases during replication or by deamination or other modification of bases; the loss of a base from the DNA backbone leaving an abasic site; single-strand breaks; double strand breaks; and intrastrand (PYRIMIDINE DIMERS) or interstrand crosslinking. Damage can often be repaired (DNA REPAIR). If the damage is extensive, it can induce APOPTOSIS. DNA Injury,DNA Lesion,DNA Lesions,Genotoxic Stress,Stress, Genotoxic,Injury, DNA,DNA Injuries
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000067856 Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors Chemicals and drugs that inhibit the action of POLY(ADP-RIBOSE)POLYMERASES. Inhibitors of Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase,PARP Inhibitor,Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitor,Poly(ADP-ribosylation) Inhibitor,Inhibitors of Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases,PARP Inhibitors,Poly(ADP-ribosylation) Inhibitors,Inhibitor, PARP,Inhibitors, PARP
D012509 Sarcoma A connective tissue neoplasm formed by proliferation of mesodermal cells; it is usually highly malignant. Sarcoma, Epithelioid,Sarcoma, Soft Tissue,Sarcoma, Spindle Cell,Epithelioid Sarcoma,Epithelioid Sarcomas,Sarcomas,Sarcomas, Epithelioid,Sarcomas, Soft Tissue,Sarcomas, Spindle Cell,Soft Tissue Sarcoma,Soft Tissue Sarcomas,Spindle Cell Sarcoma,Spindle Cell Sarcomas
D059765 Homologous Recombination An exchange of DNA between matching or similar sequences. Homologous Recombinations,Recombination, Homologous,Recombinations, Homologous
D059767 Recombinational DNA Repair Repair of DNA DAMAGE by exchange of DNA between matching sequences, usually between the allelic DNA (ALLELES) of sister chromatids. Homologous Recombination DNA Repair,Homologous Recombination Repair of DNA,Homology-Directed dsDNA Break Repair,Homologous Recombination Double-Stranded Break DNA Repair,Homologous Recombination Repair,Homologous Recombinational Repair,Recombination Repair,Recombinational Repair of DNA,DNA Recombinational Repair,DNA Repair, Recombinational,Homologous Recombination Double Stranded Break DNA Repair,Homologous Recombinational Repairs,Homology Directed dsDNA Break Repair,Recombination Repair, Homologous,Recombinational Repair, Homologous,Repair, Homologous Recombinational,Repair, Recombination,Repair, Recombinational DNA

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