Genetic variation in the DNA repair pathway as a potential determinant of response to platinum-based chemotherapy in breast cancer.

Platinum-based chemotherapy is often used as a first-line treatment for patient with breast cancer. Platinum agents bind to DNA, forming adducts that contain intra and inter-strand crosslinks. It is possible that genetic variations of the DNA repair pathways may affect the activity, or efficacy of platinum, and hence resistance to platinum chemotherapy may be related to these genetic variants. We have summarized the known variants in the DNA repair pathway that have been reported to predict the response to platinum-based therapy in breast cancer.