Exploitation of pronounced cancer cell death upon dual loss of DNA end protection and nuclease restraint

This project is discovery research and will support one of the best preclinical researchers in Wales and help with retention of talented scientists in Wales, which is currently a problem. 

Many patients develop resistance to existing therapies, such as PARP inhibitors in BRCA1-deficient cancers, leaving them with limited options. Discovering new, actionable weaknesses in cancer cells could directly benefit cancer patients (of which Welsh patients will be amongst the first) by providing strategies to treat therapy-resistant cancers locally and more effectively.

Cells repair DNA damage to survive, but cancer cells sometimes rely on weakened or altered repair pathways. The scientists at Bangor University have discovered that losing both DNA end protection proteins and nucleases’ restraint causes cancer cells to die. By understanding this vulnerability, they aim to develop new treatments that exploit it, potentially killing cancers that no longer respond to standard therapies. If successful these new therapies will be tested and optimised with local patients first, giving Welsh patients access to cutting-edge precision therapies sooner, than would be the case if the research was funded elsewhere.