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Galangin Overcomes Gefitinib and Sotorasib Resistance in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer by Inhibiting Efferocytosis

Tao-Hong Su1, Jing Cao1, Xin-Xin Ding1

  • 1Cancer Research Center, the Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory for Diagnosis, Treatment, and Rehabilitation of Cancer in Chinese Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, China.

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
|April 20, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Drug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can be overcome by targeting efferocytosis. The natural flavonoid galangin sensitizes tumors to targeted therapies like gefitinib and sotorasib.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Targeted therapies (gefitinib, sotorasib) for EGFR- and KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) face limited efficacy due to rapid drug resistance.
  • Conventional strategies for overcoming resistance are slow and can induce further resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify a shared, mutation-independent resistance mechanism in NSCLC.
  • To discover novel therapeutic sensitizers to overcome drug resistance in NSCLC.

Main Methods:

  • Multidatabase screening to identify potential sensitizers.
  • In vivo studies to assess galangin's efficacy in restoring tumor sensitivity.
  • Transcriptomic profiling to elucidate galangin's mechanism of action.
  • Analysis of galangin's interaction with efferocytosis-related targets.

Main Results:

  • Dysregulated efferocytosis was identified as a shared, mutation-independent resistance mechanism.
  • The natural flavonoid galangin was identified as a potent therapeutic sensitizer.
  • Galangin restored tumor sensitivity to gefitinib and sotorasib in vivo.
  • Galangin modulated the efferocytosis pathway, suppressed M2 macrophage polarization, and reduced expression of CAMK2A and MERTK.

Conclusions:

  • Efferocytosis represents a novel, targetable vulnerability in drug-resistant NSCLC.
  • Galangin shows promise as a sensitizer to overcome resistance to gefitinib and sotorasib, offering a new therapeutic strategy.
Keywords:
drug resistanceefferocytosisgalanginmacrophagenon-small cell lung cancer

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