A continuing quest in clinical oncology is to effectively eliminate tumors without major side effects. But drugs rationally tailored against specific tumors and predictive markers for patient selection are very limited, and their identification is challenging. A phase 1 study has provided proof of concept for the use of PARP inhibitors in tumors from individuals carrying BRCA mutations—a remarkable success in rational drug design and translational research.
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Katie Vicari
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K.P. receives research support from and is a consultant to the Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research and is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of Theracrine, Inc. and Metamark Genetics, Inc. J.G. is conducting clinical trials using PARP inhibitors manufactured by Abbott Laboratories and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. She is a consultant to Generation Health, Inc.
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Polyak, K., Garber, J. Targeting the missing links for cancer therapy. Nat Med 17, 283–284 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0311-283
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0311-283
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