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Published on: November 10, 2023

The tumor microenvironment: focus on myeloma

William S Dalton1

  • 1H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL 33612, USA. dalton@moffitt.usf.edu

Cancer Treatment Reviews
|May 10, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Tumor cells develop drug resistance through various mechanisms, including cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix. This cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) is crucial in hematologic cancers like multiple myeloma.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cell Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Cancer cells exhibit diverse drug resistance mechanisms.
  • These include efflux pumps, altered apoptosis factors, and enzyme activity.
  • Cellular drug resistance is also influenced by interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) in cancer.
  • To investigate CAM-DR in hematologic malignancies, specifically multiple myeloma.
  • To understand how the tumor microenvironment contributes to chemotherapy resistance.

Main Methods:

  • Review of known cellular resistance mechanisms.
  • Focus on the impact of extracellular matrix (ECM) protein binding.
  • Analysis of CAM-DR relevance in multiple myeloma.

Main Results:

  • Cell adhesion to ECM proteins is a significant factor in drug resistance.
  • CAM-DR is particularly relevant in hematologic malignancies like multiple myeloma.
  • Myeloma cell adhesion to bone marrow stroma promotes survival.

Conclusions:

  • Cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR) offers a protective mechanism for tumor cells.
  • The tumor microenvironment plays a critical role in mediating chemotherapy resistance.
  • Understanding CAM-DR is key to overcoming drug resistance in cancers such as multiple myeloma.

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