• Inhibits RAD52 foci induced by cisplatin and inhibits SSA with minimal effect on HR and NHEJ in BRCA-proficient cells.• Single agent activity in BRCA1/2 deficient TNBC cells, pancreatic cancer cells and patient-derived AML and CML cells through synthetic lethality. IC50 = 5-75 μM. Here, RAD52 is linked to acute myeloid leukemia.