Regulation of cell survival by HUNK mediates breast cancer resistance to HER2 inhibitors.

ABSTRACT: Breast cancer patients who are HER2-positive receive targeted inhibitors to HER2, including trastuzumab and lapatinib. While patients benefit from the use of HER2 inhibitors, many fail therapy and almost all patients become resistant to treatment, indicating a critical need to prevent treatment failure. Several recent studies indicate that activation of autophagy contributes to trastuzumab and lapatinib resistance and demonstrate that impairing autophagy in breast cancer cells is therapeutically beneficial. Moreover, autophagy is mechanistically linked through signaling crosstalk to apoptotic pathways, where activation of one process impacts the other. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms that control these processes may uncover novel areas of therapeutic intervention to comba

SUBMITTER: Yeh ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4342830 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature