Classical and Targeted Anticancer Drugs: An Appraisal of Mechanisms of Multidrug Resistance

Methods in Molecular Biology
Bruce C Baguley

Abstract

The mechanisms by which tumor cells resist the action of multiple anticancer drugs, often with widely different chemical structures, have been pursued for more than 30 years. The identification of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a drug efflux transporter protein with affinity for multiple therapeutic drugs, provided an important potential mechanism and further work, which identified other members of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family that act as drug transporters. Several observations, including results of clinical trials with pharmacological inhibitors of P-gp, have suggested that mechanisms other than efflux transporters should be considered as contributors to resistance, and in this review mechanisms of anticancer drug resistance are considered more broadly. Cells in human tumors exist is a state of continuous turnover, allowing ongoing selection and "survival of the fittest." Tumor cells die not only as a consequence of drug therapy but also by apoptosis induced by their microenvironment. Cell death can be mediated by host immune mechanisms and by nonimmune cells acting on so-called death receptors. The tumor cell proliferation rate is also important because it controls tumor regeneration. Resistance to therapy might therefore be con...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a specific process that leads to programmed cell death through the activation of an evolutionary conserved intracellular pathway leading to pathognomic cellular changes distinct from cellular necrosis

Apoptosis in Cancer

Apoptosis is an important mechanism in cancer. By evading apoptosis, tumors can continue to grow without regulation and metastasize systemically. Many therapies are evaluating the use of pro-apoptotic activation to eliminate cancer growth. Here is the latest research on apoptosis in cancer.

Antimicrobial Resistance (ASM)

Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to the continued successful use of antimicrobial agents for the treatment of bacterial infections.

Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to the continued successful use of antimicrobial agents for the treatment of bacterial infections.