Pharmacy Medical News about Multidrug-Resistant Cancer

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Identification of Compounds Selectively Killing Multidrug-Resistant Cancer Cells
Cancer Research, 11/02/09

Turk D et al. – The discovery of the MDR–selective compound set shows the robustness of the developing field of MDR–targeting therapy as a new strategy for resolving Pgp–mediated MDR.

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Gergely Szakacs, 11/03/09

Achilles’s skin was impenetrable but for a small area that remained vulnerable leading to his ultimate demise. Similarly, cancer cells are shielded by the ATP-dependent efflux pump P-glycoprotein (MDR1/Pgp/ABCB1), which limits the passage of most chemotherapeutic agents through the plasma membrane. Strategies to overcome ‘multidrug resistance’ (MDR) have been actively sought for more than 30 years, yet clinical solutions do not exist. In this issue of Cancer Research, Turk & Hall et al. report the discovery of a series of small molecules that selectively kill otherwise multidrug resistant cells expressing P-glycoprotein. Selective toxicity of the compounds is specifically tied to the activity of Pgp, suggesting that Pgp may be considered the "Achilles' Heel" of MDR cells, representing a fatal weakness that should be exploited by a new modality for tackling MDR in cancer.