Figure 1. Schematic representation of cellular effects of oncogene addiction, synthetic lethality, and non‐oncogene addiction.

(A) Oncogene addiction. Cancer cells need continuous oncogenic signaling for their survival. Increased oncogenic signaling in the cancer cell is schematically represented by the arrows. (B) Synthetic lethality. The mutation of individual genes is compatible with cell viability, whereas the combined mutation of these genes leads to cell death. (C) Non‐oncogene addiction. Cancer cells harbor elevated levels of various stresses, caused by collateral events during the tumorigenic process. Tumor cells can be specifically killed by application of additional stress, or by inhibition of specific salvage pathways, whereas normal cells can tolerate these perturbations.