RecQ helicases are essential for DNA replication, recombination, DNA damage repair, and other
nucleic acid metabolic pathways required for normal cell growth, survival, and
genome stability. More recently,
RecQ helicases have been shown to be important for replication fork stabilization, one of the major mechanisms of
PARP inhibitor resistance.
Cancer cells often have upregulated helicases and depend on these
enzymes to repair rapid growth-promoted DNA lesions. Several studies are now evaluating the use of
RecQ helicases as potential
biomarkers of breast and gynecologic
cancers. Furthermore,
RecQ helicases have attracted interest as possible targets for
cancer treatment. In this review, we discuss the characteristics of
RecQ helicases and their interacting partners that may be utilized for effective treatment strategies (as
cancers depend on helicases for survival). We also discuss how targeting helicase in combination with DNA repair inhibitors (i.e., PARP and ATR inhibitors) can be used as novel approaches for
cancer treatment to increase sensitivity to current treatment to prevent rise of treatment resistance.