The present and future of the Cancer Dependency Map
Abstract
Despite tremendous progress in the past decade, the complex and heterogeneous nature of cancer complicates efforts to identify new therapies and therapeutic combinations that achieve durable responses in most patients. Further advances in cancer therapy will rely, in part, on the development of targeted therapeutics matched with the genetic and molecular characteristics of cancer. The Cancer Dependency Map (DepMap) is a large-scale data repository and research platform, aiming to systematically reveal the landscape of cancer vulnerabilities in thousands of genetically and molecularly annotated cancer models. DepMap is used routinely by cancer researchers and translational scientists and has facilitated the identification of several novel and selective therapeutic strategies for multiple cancer types that are being tested in the clinic. However, it is also clear that the current version of DepMap is not yet comprehensive. In this Perspective, we review (1) the impact and current uses of DepMap, (2) the opportunities to enhance DepMap to overcome its current limitations, and (3) the ongoing efforts to further improve and expand DepMap.
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RNA exosome activity is essential in all eukaryotes that have been assessed, including humans.
“RNA exosome activity is essential in all eukaryotes that have been assessed, including humans, where the core RNA exosome subunits EXOSC1–10, the DIS3 exonuclease, and the MTR4 RNA exosome RNA helicase have all been identified as common essential in the Dependency Map (DepMap) project 31,32.”
From EXOSC3 G191 Variants Trigger System-Wide Recalibration of RNA Processing Machinery (2026) · cites this paper as [31]
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Degron-independent recruitment of KAT2A expands the target space of CRBN molecular glues
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- Authors
- Arafeh, R., Shibue, T., Dempster, J. M., Hahn, W. C., & Vazquez, F.
- Affiliations
- Broad Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hahn, William C.
- Venue
- Nature Reviews Cancer
- Published
- 2024-10-28
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 59-73
- ISSN
- 1474-175X (ISSN-L)
- 1474-1768
- OpenAlex
- W4403810280
- Cited by
- 454
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 331 · 2025: 119 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 22.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature reviews. Cancer (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Chromatin Remodeling and Cancer
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computational Theory and Mathematics › Computational Drug Discovery Methods
- Keywords
- DepMap, cancer vulnerability, targeted cancer therapy, therapeutic combinations, data repositories, cancer genomics, drug sensitivity, precision oncology
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Neoplasms, Molecular Targeted Therapy
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