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Updated: May 27, 2025

Acupoint Application Combined with Acupressure as an Adjunctive Therapy for Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting
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Integrating alternative therapies in overcoming chemotherapy resistance in tumors

Sana S Alqarni1, Najeeb Ullah Khan2

  • 1Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Science, King Saud University, 11421, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Molecular Biology Reports
|February 17, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Chemotherapy resistance is a major hurdle in cancer treatment. This review explores alternative therapies like immunotherapy and herbal treatments to overcome resistance and improve patient outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Therapeutics
  • Drug Resistance

Background:

  • Chemotherapy resistance in tumors poses a significant clinical challenge.
  • Mechanisms include genetic mutations, drug efflux, altered metabolism, and tumor microenvironment adaptations.
  • These factors limit treatment effectiveness and lead to tumor relapse.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review alternative therapies for overcoming chemotherapy resistance.
  • To highlight emerging strategies and their efficacy rates.
  • To discuss the integration of alternative therapies with conventional treatments.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of alternative cancer treatment strategies.
  • Analysis of efficacy rates for various alternative therapies.
  • Discussion of challenges and future directions in cancer therapeutics.

Main Results:

  • Alternative therapies show high efficacy: herbal (90%), photodynamic therapy/hypothermia (86-99%), immunotherapy (80%), gene therapy (67-80%), epigenetic therapies (51-89%).
  • Targeted therapies (58-64%), hormone therapy (22-61%), probiotics (34-90%), metabolic therapies (>50%), microbiome-based therapies (50%), and nanotechnology (50-67%) are also explored.
  • Integrating these with conventional treatments can improve therapeutic efficacy and patient outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Advancements in molecular diagnostics, liquid biopsies, and biomarkers are crucial for monitoring resistance and guiding treatment.
  • Addressing tumor heterogeneity and lack of predictive biomarkers is essential.
  • Expanding clinical trials is vital for validating new therapies and improving patient survival.
Keywords:
Alternative therapiesChemotherapyCombinatorial approachesDrug resistanceTumors

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