Alternative DNA Repair Mechanism Could Provide Better Neuroblastoma Treatment

Researchers from the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital have identified a new target for developing new therapies for children with high-risk neuroblastoma, according to a recent study published in the journal Molecular Cancer Research. “We discovered that high-risk neuroblastoma cells preferentially use an efficient but erroneous DNA repair pathway that gives these cells survival advantage. Importantly, children with neuroblastoma tumors harboring these alternative repair factors have worse overall survival than children with tumors that have low expression,” said the study’s lead author. The study provides evidence that an alternative repair mechanism is functional in neuroblastoma, and offers experimental support for further preclinical investigation of DNA repair pathways as new therapeutic targets. To read more about this study, click here.