Issue 1, 2017

Adaptive mechanisms of resistance to anti-neoplastic agents

Abstract

Intrinsic and acquired resistance to conventional and targeted therapeutics is a fundamental reason for treatment failure in many cancer patients. Targeted approaches to overcome chemoresistance as well as resistance to targeted approaches require in depth understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms. The anti-cancer activity of a drug can be limited by a broad variety of molecular events at different levels of drug action in a cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous manner. This review summarizes recent insights into the adaptive mechanisms used by tumours to resist therapy including cellular phenotypic plasticity, dynamic alterations of the tumour microenvironment, activation of redundant signal transduction pathways, modulation of drug target expression levels, and exploitation of pro-survival responses.

Graphical abstract: Adaptive mechanisms of resistance to anti-neoplastic agents

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
15 Jul 2016
Accepted
19 Oct 2016
First published
21 Oct 2016

Med. Chem. Commun., 2017,8, 53-66

Adaptive mechanisms of resistance to anti-neoplastic agents

B. I. Ferreira, M. K. Lie, A. S. T. Engelsen, S. Machado, W. Link and J. B. Lorens, Med. Chem. Commun., 2017, 8, 53 DOI: 10.1039/C6MD00394J

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