Abstract B34: Development of novel small molecule inhibitors targeting DNA repair proteins

More than 1.6 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the US in 2016 and a third of these will be from solid tumor of the lung, pancreas, breast, and ovary. These cancers represent a continuing clinical challenge in treatment and together account for over 250,000 deaths in the US alone, representing over 40% of all cancer deaths. There are limited therapeutic options for these patients, and targeted and combination therapies remain necessary for treating these aggressive cancers. The opportunity exists to exploit recent scientific advances in our knowledge of the underlying biology behind these cancers to create novel targeted therapeutics to dramatically enhance patient response to therapy and ultimately survival. To this end, we have developed a series of novel small chemical molecules that disrupt critical protein-DNA interactions in the nucleotide excision and non-homologous end joining DNA repair pathways. It is well understood that various cancer treatments like cisplatin, etoposide and ionizing radiation impart their chemotherapeutic effect by the formation of direct DNA damage which block DNA replication and transcription culminating in apoptosis. It is also well established that repair of this DNA damage by various DNA repair pathways reduces the effectiveness of chemo- or radio- therapy. It is our contention, borne out by analysis of clinical data to be presented on the development of our DNA repair inhibitors, that inhibition of these DNA repair pathways s...
Source: Molecular Cancer Research - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Therapies Targeting Checkpoints and Mismatch Repair: Poster Presentations - Proffered Abstracts Source Type: research