A new therapeutic approach can take advantage of cancer cells’ need to repair double-strand breaks in DNA, in order to overcome the tumour’s resistance to chemotherapy (Science Transl. Medicine). According to the research group headed by Hans Christian from University Cologne, mutations in the ATM gene protect cancer cells from cell death during chemotherapy. ATM is instrumental in initiating DNA repair and inducing cell death when repair is not possible in curse of the so-called DNA damage response (DDR). http://www.eurobiotechnews.eu/news/news/2013-02/double-strike-against-cancer.html
