title: Targeting the DNA repair defect of BRCA tumours.
abstract: Carriers of heterozygous mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 are strongly predisposed to breast and ovarian cancers. Cancers arising in these individuals have consistently lost the wild-type allele during tumour progression, and are therefore deficient in BRCA1 or BRCA2 function. Both BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins have been implicated in the repair of double-strand DNA breaks by homologous recombination. This functional role in DNA repair could be exploited in the treatment of BRCA-deficient cancers by targeting the tumours with drugs that create DNA damage highly reliant on BRCA1 or BRCA2 for repair.
authors.affiliation: The Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, Fulham Road, London SW3 6JB, UK.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tutt
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ashworth
mesh_terms: D019313:BRCA1 Protein / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D024682:BRCA2 Protein / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D019313:BRCA1 Protein; D024682:BRCA2 Protein