Resistance to Chemotherapy and Targeted Therapy in Cancer: Understanding the Pathogenesis and Identifying the Best Approaches to Overcome This Challenge

A special issue of Current Oncology (ISSN 1718-7729).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 649

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Surgical Pathology, Henry Ford Cancer Institute, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
Interests: prostate cancer; bladder cancer; breast cancer and the role of AI in medicine

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

While surgery and radiotherapy are the primary treatments used for local cancers, systemic therapy, whether chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, or hormonal therapy, is the cornerstone in the management of advanced cancers. Despite all the advancements that we have made in cancer treatment, there are still many challenges that face us. One of the main challenges that we face is resistance to therapy. Resistance to chemotherapy has been a challenge in cancer therapy for a long time. During the recent two decades, novel therapies targeting the genomic drivers of cancer development and the tumor microenvironment and immunological environment have been adopted with huge success. Examples of these therapies include HER2 targeted therapy in breast cancer, EGFR inhibitors in lung cancer, and anti-CTLA and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies in many tumors. However, regardless of all of these advancements, resistance to therapy remains a huge challenge. For this Special Issue, we welcome manuscripts that focus on understanding drug resistance in cancer, its pathogenesis, and describe new approaches and advances in medicine that can help prevent or delay resistance to therapy. We also welcome original research and economic evaluation on this relevant topic.

Dr. Oudai Hassan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • chemotherapy
  • targeted therapy
  • resistance
  • microenvironment
  • immunotherapy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 3527 KiB  
Article
Treatment-Induced Gene Expression Changes in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Insights from a Syngeneic Mouse Model
by Ko Okabe, Toshiaki Tanaka, Tetsuya Shindo, Yuki Kyoda, Sachiyo Nishida, Kohei Hashimoto, Ko Kobayashi and Naoya Masumori
Curr. Oncol. 2025, 32(7), 391; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32070391 - 8 Jul 2025
Viewed by 279
Abstract
This study aimed to clarify the alterations in gene expression in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) during disease progression and in response to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors using a syngeneic mouse mRCC model. RENCA cells were orthotopically implanted in BALB/c mice. Mice [...] Read more.
This study aimed to clarify the alterations in gene expression in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) during disease progression and in response to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors using a syngeneic mouse mRCC model. RENCA cells were orthotopically implanted in BALB/c mice. Mice received first-line treatment with cabozantinib, anti-PD-1 antibody, or a combination. Tumor progression was monitored using serial micro-computed tomography. Lung metastasis samples were collected, and RNA sequencing was performed. Mice with apparent disease progression received second-line treatment with axitinib, everolimus, or lenvatinib after combination therapy. The median overall survival was 28, 34, 34, and 49 days in untreated mice and those treated with cabozantinib, anti-PD-1, or their combination, respectively (p < 0.05). RNA sequencing revealed upregulation of the fibroblast growth factor pathway in lung metastases after monotherapy, whereas mTOR pathway activation was observed only after combination therapy. Treatment-specific gene expression changes occur in mRCC, suggesting that the optimal target for sequential therapy in mRCC varies depending on prior treatment. Full article
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