Characteristics and molecular mechanism of drug-tolerant cells in cancer: a review

Xian-Wen Liang; Bing- Liu; Jia-Cheng Chen; Zhi Cao; Feng-Ran Chu; Xiong Lin; Sheng-Zhong Wang; Jin-Cai Wu

doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.1177466

Characteristics and molecular mechanism of drug-tolerant cells in cancer: a review

Front Oncol. 2023 Jul 7:13:1177466. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1177466. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xian-Wen Liang¹, Bing- Liu², Jia-Cheng Chen¹, Zhi Cao¹, Feng-Ran Chu¹, Xiong Lin¹, Sheng-Zhong Wang², Jin-Cai Wu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University), Haikou, China.
² Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Central South University Xiangya School of Medicine Affiliated Haikou Hospital, Haikou, China.

Abstract

Drug resistance in tumours has seriously hindered the therapeutic effect. Tumour drug resistance is divided into primary resistance and acquired resistance, and the recent study has found that a significant proportion of cancer cells can acquire stable drug resistance from scratch. This group of cells first enters the drug tolerance state (DT state) under drug pressure, and gradually acquires stable drug resistance through adaptive mutations in this state. Although the specific mechanisms underlying the formation of drug tolerant cells (DTCs) remain unclear, various proteins and signalling pathways have been identified as being involved in the formation of DTCs. In the current review, we summarize the characteristics, molecular mechanisms and therapeutic strategies of DTCs in detail.

Keywords: cancer; characteristics; drug tolerance; molecular mechanisms; therapeutic strategies.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was funded by (1) Hainan Province Science and Technology Special Fund, No. ZDYF2022SHFZ283; (2)Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province, No. 823MS168.