What Role do BRCA Proteins Play in Cancer Therapy?
BRCA proteins are targets for certain cancer therapies, especially PARP inhibitors. These drugs exploit the catalytic role of BRCA proteins in DNA repair. By inhibiting PARP enzymes, which are also involved in DNA repair, cancer cells deficient in BRCA-mediated repair are unable to fix DNA damage and consequently die. This approach is a form of synthetic lethality, leveraging catalytic pathways to treat cancer.
