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Two Worlds, One Battle: How Bacteria and Malignancies Converge on Drug Resistance
1Department of Life Sciences, School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus.
Drug resistance in bacteria and cancer shares common evolutionary mechanisms, driving treatment failure. Understanding these convergent strategies offers new therapeutic opportunities to overcome resistance.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology and Oncology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Translational Medicine
Background:
- Drug resistance poses a major threat to treating bacterial infections and cancer.
- Distinct biological systems share evolutionary pressures leading to treatment failure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an integrative, cross-disciplinary review of drug resistance in bacteria and cancer.
- To emphasize shared evolutionary and molecular mechanisms driving resistance.
- To explore translational opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
Main Methods:
- Narrative review of scientific literature.
- Focus on comparative analysis of resistance mechanisms in bacteria and cancer.
- Integration of insights from microbiology and oncology.
Main Results:
- Identified shared resistance strategies: efflux pumps, target modification, enzymatic inactivation, metabolic reprogramming, epigenetic plasticity, and microenvironmental protection.
- Highlighted phenotypic heterogeneity (persister cells, cancer stem cells) contributing to multidrug resistance.
- Defined drug resistance as a convergent evolutionary phenomenon.
Conclusions:
- Drug resistance in bacteria and cancer is a convergent evolutionary process driven by adaptability.
- Recognizing shared mechanisms opens avenues for novel therapeutic strategies.
- Cross-disciplinary approaches, including combination therapy and nanotechnology, can improve treatment durability and outcomes.
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