Drug resistance poses a significant challenge to the success of cancer treatments. A new study reveals the mechanisms behind its development and offers solutions to prevent cancer cells from becoming resistant to therapies.
A recent study uncovers how drug-resistant cancer cells induce changes in the tumor microenvironment. This phenomenon promotes cancer recurrence and explains why initially effective targeted therapies can lose their efficacy over time.
Cancer treatments may fail if even a small subset of cancer cells proves resistant or adapts to survive drug treatments. Researchers have identified a mechanism explaining why lung cancer treatments sometimes fall short: as early as the initial treatment stages, a small but resilient population of cancer cells can survive and modify their environment. This process contributes to cancer recurrence and leads to the development of drug resistance. The identified mechanism elucidates why targeted treatments often lose their effectiveness over time and why treatment outcomes vary significantly between patients.
"Cancer cells are like weeds. Even if you pull them all out, roots may remain hidden underground, altering the soil and eventually causing new weeds to grow," explains Assistant Professor Heidi Haikala.
Drug resistance is a major challenge
Drug resistance is one of the greatest challenges in cancer treatment. Therefore, understanding its mechanisms is essential for developing new therapies. The study also identified methods to prevent cancer cells from developing resistance. By utilizing so called epigenetic drugs, new combination therapies could be developed to enhance treatment effectiveness.
For cancer patients, this approach could lead to better, more personalized treatments that improve the chances of successful outcomes and enhance quality of life. While the study focused on lung cancer, its findings may also help to understand drug resistance in other types of cancer. Cancer patients could potentially benefit from these findings within 5-10 years, depending on the progress of clinical research and regulatory approvals.
Lung cancers on the rise
Cancer, particularly lung cancer, is becoming more prevalent, and treatment options for lung cancer remain limited, underscoring the urgent need for improved treatment methods
"The lung cancers examined in this study often occur in young individuals who do not smoke. For some reason, these cases of lung cancer in young patients are sadly increasing worldwide. While drug resistance is a daunting issue, this study demonstrates that overcoming it is possible," Haikala notes.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer globally.
The research was funded by the Research Council of Finland, the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the Cancer Foundation Finland, among others.
The study, titled "Intratumor Heterogeneity of EGFR Expression Mediates Targeted Therapy Resistance and Formation of Drug-Tolerant Microenvironment " was published on January 2, 2025, in Nature Communications.
The research was conducted in collaboration with several institutions, including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
