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Multidrug resistance in prostate cancer
J P van Brussel1, G H J Mickisch
1Department of Urology, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Onkologie
|May 29, 2003
Summary
Multidrug resistance (MDR) mechanisms contribute to treatment failure in advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Targeting these MDR pathways may improve therapeutic efficacy for this challenging disease.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Cancer Biology
Background:
- Advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer presents a significant therapeutic challenge.
- Current pharmaceutical treatments have not improved cancer-specific survival.
- Chemotherapy failure may stem from multidrug resistance (MDR) mechanisms in cancer cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the involvement of MDR mechanisms in hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
- To explore whether prostate cancer utilizes MDR principles against chemotherapeutic agents.
Main Methods:
- Examination of diverse MDR pathways including MDR1, MRPs, glutathione, and apoptosis.
- Assessment of these mechanisms in hormone-refractory prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests the involvement of several MDR mechanisms in prostate cancer chemoresistance.
- Functional expression of some MDR mechanisms, like MRP1, appears probable.
- MDR pathways are partially established to varying degrees in this cancer type.
Conclusions:
- Multidrug resistance mechanisms play a role in the chemoresistance of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
- Reversing, circumventing, or overcoming MDR pathways offers potential for improved treatment efficacy.
- Targeting MDR pathways may provide new therapeutic avenues for intractable prostate cancer.