LncRNAs in modulating cancer cell resistance to paclitaxel (PTX) therapy

Paclitaxel (PTX) is widely used for treating several cancers, including breast, ovarian, lung, esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, and neck cancers. Despite its clinical utility, cancer recurrence frequently occurs in patients due to the development of resistance to PTX. Resistance mechanisms in cancer cells treated with PTX include alterations in β-tubulin, the target molecule involved in mitosis, activation of molecular pathways enabling drug efflux, and dysregulation of apoptosis-related proteins. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are RNA molecules longer than 200 nucleotides without protein-coding potential, serve diverse regulatory roles in cellular processes. Increasing evidence highlights the involvement of lncRNAs in cancer progression and their contribution to PTX resistance across various cancers. Consequently, lncRNAs have emerged as potential therapeutic targets for addressing drug resistance in cancer treatment. This review focuses on the current understanding of lncRNAs and their role in drug resistance mechanisms, aiming to encourage further investigation in this area. Key lncRNAs and their associated pathways linked to PTX resistance will be summarized.