title: Drug resistance and drug development in multiple myeloma.
abstract: Circumvention of drug resistance in multiple myeloma is a major obstacle to improving clinical outcomes for myeloma patients. Identification of several mechanisms of acquired drug resistance has led to the development of chemosensitizing agents that counter specific drug resistance mechanisms. Initial successes in therapy using chemosensitizers often culminate in relapse because of the multifactorial nature of acquired multidrug resistance. Therefore, it may be important to design therapeutic strategies that focus on mechanisms that allow for cell survival following initial treatments, before the acquisition of multidrug resistance. It has been proposed that extracellular effectors such as cytokines, matrix components, and adjacent cells may provide a sanctuary for cancer cells by preventing stress-induced cell death. This review focuses on research implicating the cancer cell environment as a particularly important determinant in the emergence of drug resistance.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Science Center, PO Box 245017, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Dalton
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000502:physiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000502:physiology; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D016207:Cytokines; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C494086:STAT3 protein, human; D015534:Trans-Activators