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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

A Data Integration Workflow to Identify Drug Combinations Targeting Synthetic Lethal Interactions
Published on: May 27, 2021
Searching for synthetic lethality in cancer
Rachel Brough1, Jessica R Frankum, Sara Costa-Cabral
1The Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, The Institute of Cancer Research, Fulham Road, London, SW3 6JB, UK.
None:
The incentive to develop personalised therapy for cancer treatment is driven by the premise that it will increase therapeutic efficacy and reduce toxicity. Understanding the underlying cellular and molecular basis of the disease has been extremely important in the design of these novel therapies; however, identifying new drug targets for personalised therapies remains problematic. This review describes how the biological concept of synthetic lethality has been successfully implemented to identify new therapeutic approaches and targets in models from yeast through to human cells. We also discuss how recent technical advances combined with an increased understanding of the complexity of cellular networks may facilitate therapeutic advances in the future.
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