Recent advances in DDR (DNA damage response) inhibitors for cancer therapy

DDR (DNA damage response) defects in cells drive tumor formation by promoting DNA mutations, which also provides cancer-specific vulnerabilities that can be targeted by synthetic lethality-based therapies. Until now, PARP inhibitors like olaparib are the first successful case of utilizing synthetic lethality-based therapy to treat cancers with DNA-repairing deficiency (e.g. BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation), which has fueled the search for more targetable components in the DDR signaling pathway by exploiting synthetic lethality, including but not limited to DNA-PK, ATR, ATM, CHK1, and WEE1. After years of efforts, numerous DDR kinase inhibitors have been discovered. Some of them are being investigated in clinical trials and have shown promising results for cancer therapy. In this review, we summarize the latest advancement in the development of DDR kinase inhibitors including those in preclinical stages and clinical trials, the crystal structures of DDR enzymes, and binding modes of inhibitors with target proteins. The biological functions involving different genes and proteins (ATR, DNA-PK, ATM, PARP, CHK1, and WEE1) are also elucidated. • Current advances in the development of small molecule DNA damage response (DDR) inhibitors are summarized. • The biological functions involving different genes and proteins (ATR, DNA-PK, ATM, PARP, CHK1, and WEE1) are elucidated. • Crystal structures of DDR inhibitors with target proteins are presented. • Challenges and future directions for DDR inhibitors are summarized.