Title:Impact of microRNAs in Resistance to Chemotherapy and Novel Targeted Agents in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Volume: 15
Issue: 5
Author(s): Christian Rolfo, Daniele Fanale, David S. Hong, Apostolia M. Tsimberidou, Sarina A. Piha-Paul, Patrick Pauwels, Jan P. Van Meerbeeck, Stefano Caruso, Viviana Bazan, Giuseppe Cicero, Antonio Russo and Elisa Giovannetti
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Chemotherapy, lung cancer, microRNA, oncogenic pathways, resistance, targeted agents.
Abstract: Despite recent advances in understanding the cancer signaling pathways and in developing new therapeutic
strategies, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) shows grim prognosis and high incidence of recurrence. Insufficient disruption
of oncogenic signaling and drug resistance are the most common causes of tumor recurrence. Drug resistance, intrinsic
or acquired, represents a main obstacle in NSCLC therapeutics by limiting the efficacy both of conventional chemotherapeutic
compounds and new targeted agents. Therefore, novel and more innovative approaches are required for
treatment of this tumor. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by
sequence-specific targeting of mRNAs causing mRNA degradation or translational repression. Accumulating evidence
suggests that impairment of candidate miRNAs may be involved in the acquisition of tumor cell resistance to conventional
chemotherapy and novel biological agents by affecting the drug sensitivity of cancer cells. The modulation of these miRNAs,
using antagomiRs or miRNA mimics, can restore key gene networks and signaling pathways, and optimize anticancer
therapies by inhibition of tumor cell proliferation and increasing the drug sensitivity. Therefore, miRNA-based
therapeutics provides an attractive anti-tumor approach for developing new and more effective individualized therapeutic
strategies, improving drug efficiency, and for predicting the response to different anticancer drugs. In this review, we present
an overview on the role of miRNAs in resistance mechanisms of NSCLC, discussing the main studies on the aberrations
in apoptosis, cell cycle and DNA damage repair pathways, as well as in novel drug targets.
