Small-molecule targeted therapies induce dependence on DNA double-strand break repair in residual tumor cells.

ABSTRACT: Residual cancer cells that survive drug treatments with targeted therapies act as a reservoir from which eventual resistant disease emerges. Although there is great interest in therapeutically targeting residual cells, efforts are hampered by our limited knowledge of the vulnerabilities existing in this cell state. Here, we report that diverse oncogene-targeted therapies, including inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), KRAS, and BRAF, induce DNA double-strand breaks and, consequently, ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM)-dependent DNA repair in oncogene-matched residual tumor cells. This DNA damage response, observed in cell lines, mouse xenograft models, and human patients, is driven by a pathway involving the activation of caspases 3 and

SUBMITTER: Ali M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9516479 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature