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Updated: Jul 2, 2025

Implementation of In Vitro Drug Resistance Assays: Maximizing the Potential for Uncovering Clinically Relevant Resistance Mechanisms
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Implementation of In Vitro Drug Resistance Assays: Maximizing the Potential for Uncovering Clinically Relevant Resistance Mechanisms

Published on: December 9, 2015

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Drug resistance mechanisms in cancers: Execution of pro-survival strategies

Pavan Kumar Dhanyamraju1

  • 1Fels Cancer Institute of Personalized Medicine, Lewis-Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.

Journal of Biomedical Research
|February 27, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Cancer drug resistance, a major challenge causing 90% of cancer deaths, involves multiple mechanisms. Understanding these pathways is crucial for developing effective cancer therapies and overcoming treatment resistance.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Drug resistance is a primary obstacle in cancer treatment, contributing to approximately 90% of cancer-related deaths.
  • Despite advances in drug discovery, innate and acquired resistance mechanisms hinder therapeutic progress.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and discuss the diverse mechanisms of cancer drug resistance.
  • To highlight current treatment strategies and future directions for overcoming drug resistance.

Main Methods:

  • Comprehensive literature review of established and emerging drug resistance mechanisms.
  • Analysis of pathways including DNA repair, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, cell death inhibition, and target alteration.

Main Results:

  • Identified key resistance mechanisms: DNA damage repair, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, inhibition of cell death, drug target alteration, drug inactivation, altered energetics, immune evasion, inflammation, and genomic instability.
  • Discussed the role of epigenetic factors in contributing to drug resistance.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding the multifaceted mechanisms of drug resistance is essential for improving cancer treatment efficacy.
  • Further research into these mechanisms and development of novel therapeutic strategies are needed to combat cancer drug resistance.
Keywords:
cancerdrug resistancemechanismsmicroRNAstreatment strategies

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