Targeting ATR in cancer.

Nat Rev Cancer

Genomic Instability Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Madrid, Spain.

Published: September 2018

AI Article Synopsis

  • The initial discovery of DNA damaging agents like mustard gas led to the development of chemotherapy drugs that have antitumor properties, although they often harm healthy cells.
  • Recent advancements focus on targeting cancer cells by exploiting their DNA damage through compounds that affect the replication stress-response, specifically using inhibitors of the ATR protein.
  • As ATR inhibitors enter clinical trials, there is an emphasis on understanding patient selection and identifying biomarkers that could predict better responses to this targeted therapy.

Article Abstract

The chemical treatment of cancer started with the realization that DNA damaging agents such as mustard gas present notable antitumoural properties. Consequently, early drug development focused on genotoxic chemicals, some of which are still widely used in the clinic. However, the efficacy of such therapies is often limited by the side effects of these drugs on healthy cells. A refinement to this approach is to use compounds that can exploit the presence of DNA damage in cancer cells. Given that replication stress (RS) is a major source of genomic instability in cancer, targeting the RS-response kinase ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein (ATR) has emerged as a promising alternative. With ATR inhibitors now entering clinical trials, we here revisit the biology behind this strategy and discuss potential biomarkers that could be used for a better selection of patients who respond to therapy.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41568-018-0034-3DOI Listing

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