Leveraging induced cell states for cancer therapy: The case for dynamic synthetic lethality
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Updated: Nov 5, 2026

A Data Integration Workflow to Identify Drug Combinations Targeting Synthetic Lethal Interactions
Published on: May 27, 2021
Christina Mayerhofer1, David T Scadden2
1Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Children's Hospital, Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Breisgau, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Freiburg; and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract:
Metabolic differences between cancer and normal cells are accentuated by the selection pressure of therapy. Persisting cells enter a therapy-induced state of heightened, time-limited metabolic dependency. We argue that this interval can be exploited with metabolic modifiers to achieve persister cell death and improve cancer outcomes.
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