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Therapeutic Targets and Drugs I: Telomerase and Telomerase Inhibitors

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Telomeres and Telomerase in Cancer

Part of the book series: Cancer Drug Discovery and Development ((CDD&D))

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Abstract

Telomerase activity has been found in 85–90% of human cancers; therefore, telomerase has been proposed as a potential anticancer therapeutic target. In this chapter, we discuss the various methods to target telomerase activity and agents shown to act as specific telomerase inhibitors. First, we will introduce the hypothesis of inhibiting telomerase as a mode of cancer therapy and the original findings supporting this hypothesis. Next, the known and most actively tested targets for telomerase inhibition, including telomerase-associated proteins and telomerase's accessibility to telomeres, will be discussed. Finally, we will discuss the current status of telomerase inhibitors in the clinic.

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Acknowledgments

We apologize to authors whose work could not be thoroughly described due to space limitations. The authors would like to acknowledge the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center and the Indiana Genomics Initiative (INGEN) for their support.ingEN of Indiana University is supported in part by Lilly Endowment, Inc.

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  1. Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Brittney-Shea Herbert & Erin M. Goldblatt

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  1. Brittney-Shea Herbert
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  2. Erin M. Goldblatt
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  1. Dept. Translational Cancer Research, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Hiroshima, Minami-Ku, 734-8551, Japan

    Keiko Hiyama

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Herbert, BS., Goldblatt, E.M. (2009). Therapeutic Targets and Drugs I: Telomerase and Telomerase Inhibitors. In: Hiyama, K. (eds) Telomeres and Telomerase in Cancer. Cancer Drug Discovery and Development. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-879-9_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-879-9_10

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