Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 12, Issue 3, 2006

Acquired drug resistance is a major limitation for successful treatment of cancer. Resistance emerges due to drug exclusion, drug metabolism and alteration of the drug target by mutation or overexpression. Depending on therapy, the type of cancer and its stage, one or several genetic or epigenetic alterations are necessary to confer resistance to treatment. The fundamental question is the following: if a genetically divers Read More

The intrinsic or acquired resistance to anticancer drugs remains one of the most significant factors impeding the progress of cancer chemotherapy. This phenomenon often involves simultaneous resistance to other anticancer drugs that differ in their chemical structure and mode of action and are not even used in chemotherapy. This phenotype has been called multidrug resistance (MDR). Although the cellular basis underlying Read More

The multidrug resistance (MDR) proteins are member of the ATP-binding cassette superfamily and are present in a majority of human tumors. Their activity is a crucial factor leading to therapeutic failure. It is likely that compounds which inhibit the function of the MDR-efflux proteins such as MDR1 will improve the cytotoxic action of anticancer chemotherapy. Therefore, a search for MDR reversing compounds was conducted Read More

Acquired and intrinsic drug resistance in cancer is the major obstacle to long-term, sustained patient response to chemotherapy. Irinotecan (CPT-11) is a widely-used potent antitumor drug that inhibits mammalian DNA topoisomerase I (Topo I). However, overexpression of ABCG2 (BCRP/MXR/ABCP) reportedly confers cancer cells resistance to SN-38, the active form of CPT-11. To circumvent the ABCG2-associated d Read More

Insight into the mechanisms of primary or acquired drug resistance of (hematological) malignancies is critical for the development of new treatment strategies. This review will focus on Bcl-2 and the mevalonate pathway as targets for reversal of drug resistance in multiple myeloma. The Bcl-2 protein is highly expressed in myeloma patients and in vitro studies have shown its role in the regulation of chemosensitivity, Read More

The median survival of patients with glioblastoma treated by surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy is in the range of 12 months. These limits in the efficacy of current treatment modalities call for the development of novel therapeutic approaches targeting the specific biological features of this type of cancer. Glioblastomas are a rich source of immunosuppressive molecules which may interfere with immune recognition and Read More

For the immune system to mount an effective antitumor T-cell response, an adequate number of T-cells specific for the antigens expressed by the malignancy must be activated [1]. Since most antigens expressed by tumors are "self"- antigens, tumor antigens often lack endogenous immunogenicity and thus do not sufficiently activate T-cells to levels that can mediate tumor eradication. In addition, virtually all solid tu Read More

The recent developments in the field of recombinant DNA, protein engineering and cancer biology, have let us gain insight into many cancer-related mechanisms. Moreover, novel techniques have facilitated tools allowing unique distinction between malignantly transformed cells, to regular ones. This understanding has paved the way for the rational design of a new age of pharmaceuticals; monoclonal antibodies and Read More

Treating malignant tumor through the induction of cell differentiation has been an attractive concept, but clinical development of differentiation-inducing agents to treat malignant tumor, especially for solid tumors has been limited to date. Nerve growth factor, all trans retinoic acid, dimethyl sulfoxide, active form vitamin D3, peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptorg, 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate, hexamethylene-bi Read More

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-mediated angiogenesis is thought to play a critical role in tumor growth and metastasis. Consequently, anti-VEGF therapies are being actively investigated as potential anti-cancer treatments, either as alternatives or adjuncts to conventional chemo or radiation therapy. Among the techniques used to block the VEGF pathway are: 1) neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against VEGF or its Read More