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Breast Cancer Research
Published in: Breast Cancer Research 5/2009

01-10-2009 | Editorial

Development of 'synthetic lethal' strategies to target BRCA1-deficient breast cancer

Author: Max S Wicha

Published in: Breast Cancer Research | Issue 5/2009

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Abstract

Recent clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors for the treatment of BRCA1-deficient breast cancer have provided support for the 'synthetic lethal' concept of targeted cancer therapeutics. A new study provides further preclinical validation of this concept by demonstrating that BRCA1-deficient mouse mammary tumor cells are selectively sensitive to an inhibitor of the polycomb gene EZH2. The development of polycomb gene inhibitors may provide a novel approach to selectively exploit the molecular alterations in BRCA1-deficient breast tumors.
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Metadata
Title
Development of 'synthetic lethal' strategies to target BRCA1-deficient breast cancer
Author
Max S Wicha
Publication date
01-10-2009
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Breast Cancer Research / Issue 5/2009
Electronic ISSN: 1465-542X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/bcr2362

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