Jeremy Stark, PhD
Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope
Homology-Directed Repair Deficiency in Ovarian Cancer
Cancer cells that are able to perform homology-directed repair (HDR) can be resistant to PARP inhibitor therapeutics, which are purposefully designed to cause DNA damage. Many ovarian cancers apparently lack the HDR pathway, and hence are likely to be sensitive to PARP inhibitor therapy. Dr. Stark has found that HDR-deficient cells show biomarkers for unstable DNA. This project will determine whether these biomarkers for unstable DNA can identify individual ovarian cancers that have lost the HDR pathway, and hence are likely to be responsive to PARP inhibitor therapy. Accurately identifying ovarian cancer patients that will likely respond to PARP inhibitor will accelerate the development of this promising therapeutic approach.