Dr. Sessa Discusses ATR Inhibitors in BRCA-Mutated Tumors

Cristiana Sessa, MD, head of Phase I-II Unit and Pharmacology, vice head of Medical Oncology and Head of Clinical Research, Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, discusses ataxia—telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) inhibitors in patients with ovarian cancer who have BRCA-mutated tumors.

The role of ATR inhibitors is to protect the genomic integrity of cells by blocking the cell cycle and allowing them time to repair, says Sessa.

ATR inhibitors can be used in combination with other drugs such as PARP inhibitors. Also, they can be used in tumor types with a lack of p53 or tumors with ataxia—telangiectasia mutation (ATM)-deficient.