Cited by 644DNA Repair MechanismsPARP inhibition in cancer therapyDNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry

DNA double-strand break repair: From mechanistic understanding to cancer treatment

HELLEDAY, T, LO, J, VANGENT, D, ENGELWARD, B·2007·DNA Repair

Abstract

Accurate repair of DNA double-strand breaks is essential to life. Indeed, defective DNA double-strand break repair can lead to toxicity and large scale sequence rearrangements that cause cancer and promote premature aging. Here, we highlight the two major repair systems for handling DNA double-strand breaks: homologous recombination and non-homologous end joining. To clarify recombination mechanisms, we present animations that illustrate DNA strand movements. In addition to describing how these pathways operate, we also describe why appropriate pathway choice is critical to genomic stability, and we summarize key pathway control features related to cell cycle checkpoint and apoptosis signaling. Importantly, recent progress in delineating the effects of specific defects in repair and checkpoint control has helped to explain several disease phenotypes, including cancer and premature aging. Improved understanding of these pathways has also sparked development of novel chemotherapeutic strategies that kill tumors with increased specificity and efficacy. This review aims to provide a foundational understanding of how the homologous recombination and non-homologous end joining pathways operate, and to demonstrate how a better understanding of these processes has advanced both our understanding of the underlying causes of cancer and our ability to innovate novel cancer treatment strategies.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.dnarep.2007.02.006

Cites

132 of 132 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
HELLEDAY, T., LO, J., VANGENT, D., & ENGELWARD, B.
Affiliations
  • Stockholm University (SE)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Venue
DNA Repair
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2007-07-01
Volume
6
Issue
7
Pages
923-935
ISSN
  • 1568-7856 (ISSN-L)
  • 1568-7864
OpenAlex
W2077892030
Cited by
640
References
132
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 52 · 2013: 60 · 2012: 53
FWCI
19.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • DNA repair (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › DNA Repair Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › PARP inhibition in cancer therapy
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry
Keywords
DNA double-strand break repair, homologous recombination, non-homologous end joining, genome stability, cell cycle checkpoints, apoptosis signaling, premature aging, cancer, targeted cancer therapy
MeSH terms
Animals, Cell Cycle, Cell Transformation, Neoplastic, DNA Repair, DNA Replication, Humans, Neoplasms, Recombination, Genetic, Gene Rearrangement, Genomic Instability, DNA Repair Enzymes, DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review