Cancer drug resistance clue found

Cancer drug resistance clue found
It may be possible to extend the usefulness of anticancer drugs by preventing drug resistance in tumors, researchers say.

A study published in Science Translational Medicine, showed a chemical reaction was in full swing as the development of resistance.

Scientists said the drugs were already on the market that interfere with the process.

Cancer Research UK said the country offered "great optimism".

An international team of researchers are investigating the cancer drug cetuximab, which is used to treat colorectal, head and neck, and some types of lung cancer.

It targets a protein - factor receptor (EGFR) - that drives tumor growth.

They said that "all patients will develop resistance to cetuximab," but little is known about how the resistance developed.
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This type of research gives us great optimism that we are on the cusp of a revolution in cancer "
Henry Scowcroft
Cancer Research UK

The experiments showed that cancer cells behave like cars in a traffic jam - when a route was blocked, they found an alternative.

In this case, the tumor EGFR replaced with a route involving a different protein - ERBB2 - and growing.

Dr. Pasi Janne, Cancer Institute Dana-Farber in Boston, said: "active ErbB2 signaling a fundamental way that is not normally blocked by cetuximab, and thus subverts the role of cetuximab.

"Because ErbB2 is not affected by cetuximab, this is an easy way for cancers that become resistant to the drug."

The researchers said several drugs that target ErbB2 had already been approved so that "the findings of this study can be used to design clinical therapies possible."

However, they caution that it is likely that other forms of cancer can develop resistance.

Henry Scowcroft, science director of information at Cancer Research UK, said: "Unfortunately, the tumors of patients become resistant to treatment, and understand why this happens is a major challenge in cancer research.

"This new study is a great example of how researchers are finding that cancer cells use molecular tricks to evade treatment and find a way to let them do it.

"This type of research gives us great optimism that we are on the cusp of a revolution in cancer, although there is much more work to do to make this a reality."