Generic placeholder image

Current Gene Therapy

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1566-5232
ISSN (Online): 1875-5631

Gene Therapy to Overcome Drug Resistance in Cancer: Targeting Key Regulators of the Apoptotic Pathway

Author(s): Alain Piche and Claudine Rancourt

Volume 1, Issue 4, 2001

Page: [317 - 324] Pages: 8

DOI: 10.2174/1566523013348382

Price: $65

Abstract

A better understanding of the molecular events responsible for the development of drug resistance in cancer cells has emerged in recent years. It is now established that tumor cells can acquire drug resistance by alterations of pathways involved in the regulation of apoptosis and that failure to activate this pathway in cancer cells may confer resistance to chemotherapy. This resistance to drug-induced apoptosis is likely to play an important role in tumors that are refractory to chemotherapy. The identification of points in the apoptotic pathway at which dysregulation occurs opens up new therapeutic opportunities in situations where conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy approaches fail. Although these gene therapy-based strategies are still in their infancy they will likely lead to more effective treatments for human cancers. This review will focus on gene therapy strategies developed to specifically target the apoptic pathway and how these strategies can affect the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy.

Next »

Rights & Permissions Print Cite
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy