iASPP inhibition: Increased options in targeting the p53 family for cancer therapy

Strategies to induce p53 for cancer therapy offer appeal but many tumors harbor inactivating p53 mutations. One way to address this situation may be to activate the p53-related protein p73, which functions similarly, but unlike p53, is rarely lost or mutated in cancer. Along these lines, a recent study reports that a p53-derived peptide that targets iASPP-a common negative regulator of p53 family members-can effectively trigger tumor cell death by a p73-dependent mechanism. These findings promote further study of iASPP targeting as a therapeutic strategy to activate p73.