Cancer prognosis using base excision repair genes

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

The base excision repair (BER) pathway is a central mechanism maintaining genomic stability. This review examines how BER pathway activity and genetic factors shape responses to advanced cancer therapies and influence patient prognosis. BER factors affect genetic instability and modulate the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, with evidence across breast, colon, lung, and bladder cancers. Polymorphisms and expression levels of OGG1, XRCC1, APE1, and Polβ correlate with cancer risk, progression, treatment response, and outcomes, suggesting BER proteins as targets for diagnosis, prognostic prediction, and personalized treatment strategies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Cancer therapies and genetic variability

DNA damage and BER function

BER in therapy resistance and biomarkers

Cancer Therapy and BER Pathway

Molecules and Cells Minireview Cancer prognosis using base excision repair genes Jeongeun Kim 1 ,2 ,†, Su-Jin Kang3 ,†, Nayoon Jo 1 ,2 , Seung-Jin Kim4 ,⁎, and Sunbok Jang1 ,2 ,⁎ 1College of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea, 2Gradutate Program in Innovative Biomaterials Convergence, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea, 3College of Pharmacy, Dongduk Women’s University, Seoul 02748, Republic of Korea, 4Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea ⁎Correspondence: [sjk@kangwon.ac.kr](sjk@kangwon.ac.kr) (S.-J. Kim), [sunbok.jang@ewha.ac.kr](sunbok.jang@ewha.ac.kr) (S. Jang) . [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mocell.2025.100186](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mocell.2025.100186) ABSTRACT The base excision repair (BER) pathway is a critical mechanism in genomic stability. This review investigates the role of the BER pathway in advanced cancer therapies considering the pivotal role of genetic factors in cancer patient responses and prognosis. BER factors significantly influence genetic instability and cancer prognosis, as well as the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In various cancers such as breast, colon, lung, and bladder, BER factors have shown potential as critical biological markers for predicting cancer outcomes. This study focuses on the polymorphisms and expression levels of key BER genes, including OGG1, XRCC1, APE1, and Polβ . Our findings demonstrate that the expression levels of BER genes and proteins are closely associated with the risk, progression, treatment response, and prognosis of various cancers. These insights could improve cancer treatments and aid in the development of drugs targeting BER proteins. Ongoing research in this field requires extensive statistical analyses and large-scale prospective studies to effectively utilize BER protein levels. Ultimately, these results suggest that the BER pathway represents a potential target for cancer diagnosis, prognostic prediction, and the development of personalized therapeutic strategies. This paves the way for effective cancer treatment in the future. © 2025 The Author(s) . Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ([http://creativecommons.org/l](http://creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4 .0/) . Keywords: Base excision repair pathway, Biomarkers, Cancer, DNA repair, Polymorphisms INTRODUCTION Cancer therapies include systemic chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted drugs, and in some cases, immunotherapy. These treatments typically have clear limitations, as even minor fluctuations in drug concentrations can lead to significant changes in patient responses (Urruticoechea et al. , 2010) . Genes significantly contribute to this variability in drug efficacy and safety. They play a substantial role in influencing how patients respond to treatments and how their cancer prognosis evolves (Evans and McLeod, 2003) . Cells constantly endure endogenous and exogenous DNA damage, totaling around 30,000 events per cell per day, caused by UV light and ionizing radiation (Nemec et al. , 2010; Prasad et al. , 2020) . The base excision repair (BER) mechanism is essential for correcting DNA damage. This process primarily eliminates faulty DNA bases and repairs single-strand breaks (SSBs) (Krokan and Bjørås, 2013; Krwawicz et al. , 2007) . Additionally, the BER pathway repairs various types of DNA lesions, including apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites and base † These authors contributed equally to this work. alterations caused by oxidation, alkylation, or deamination (Gohil et al. , 2023) . Therefore, BER is critical for maintaining genomic integrity. Unless these lesions are repaired, genomic instability can occur, leading to double-strand breaks, genomic mutations, cance

FAQs

What is the BER pathway and why is it important in cancer prognosis?

BER is a key DNA repair mechanism that preserves genomic stability. Alterations in BER factors can drive genetic instability and affect how cancer patients respond to therapy, thereby influencing prognosis.

Which BER genes are emphasized in the review?

The review focuses on polymorphisms and expression levels of OGG1, XRCC1, APE1, and Polβ, linking their activity to cancer risk, progression, treatment response, and outcomes.

How can BER influence chemotherapy and radiotherapy effectiveness?

Cancer cells can use BER to repair DNA damage caused by chemotherapy and radiation. Overexpression of BER proteins, and related genetic changes in BER genes, can contribute to treatment resistance and altered clinical responses.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel