Advanced cancer is a leading cause of death in the developedworld.1 Chemotherapy and ionising radiation are the two maintreatment modalities currently available to improve outcomes inpatients with disseminated malignancy. The cytotoxicity ofmany of these agents is directly related to their propensity toinduce genomic DNA damage. However, the ability of cancercells to recognise this damage and initiate DNA repair is animportant mechanism for therapeutic resistance that negativelyimpacts upon treatment efficacy. DNA repair constituents maybe useful as biomarkers to predict tumour response to treatmentand improve outcome prognostication. Pharmacological inhibitionof DNA repair pathways has the potential to enhance cytotoxicityof a diverse range of anticancer agents and overcometreatment resistance. The use of inhibitors of DNA damagepathways also seems to provide an exciting opportunity to targetthe genetic differences that exist between normal and tumourtissue.
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