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Somatic Evolution of Acquired Drug Resistance in Cancer

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Targeted Therapies

Part of the book series: Molecular and Translational Medicine ((MOLEMED))

Abstract

Acquired drug resistance is a central problem in cancer medicine. The diverse molecular mechanisms of acquired drug resistance all arise through the same process of somatic (within-body) cellular evolution. Even targeted drugs are subject to this failure. Genetic instability causes high genetic diversity among the cells of most cancers, but because somatic evolution results from selection as well as mutation, some classes of therapies are less prone than others to failure through acquired resistance. Cytotoxins, whether targeted or not, are especially prone to acquired drug resistance. Among the most promising classes of therapies expected to be robust against acquired resistance are: those that target systemic cancer symptoms instead of cancer cells, those that target cell motility rather than survival and proliferation, and those that target secreted metabolites of cancer cells rather than the cells themselves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    John W. Pepper

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  1. John W. Pepper
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Correspondence to John W. Pepper .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Health System, Deptartment of Microbiology and Cancer C, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22908-0734, Virgin Islands, USA

    Daniel Gioeli

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Pepper, J.W. (2011). Somatic Evolution of Acquired Drug Resistance in Cancer. In: Gioeli, D. (eds) Targeted Therapies. Molecular and Translational Medicine. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-478-4_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-478-4_7

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60761-477-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60761-478-4

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