Leveraging Hypoxia-Activated Prodrugs to Prevent Drug Resistance in Solid Tumors.

ABSTRACT: Experimental studies have shown that one key factor in driving the emergence of drug resistance in solid tumors is tumor hypoxia, which leads to the formation of localized environmental niches where drug-resistant cell populations can evolve and survive. Hypoxia-activated prodrugs (HAPs) are compounds designed to penetrate to hypoxic regions of a tumor and release cytotoxic or cytostatic agents; several of these HAPs are currently in clinical trial. However, preliminary results have not shown a survival benefit in several of these trials. We hypothesize that the efficacy of treatments involving these prodrugs depends heavily on identifying the correct treatment schedule, and that mathematical modeling can be used to help design potential therapeutic strategies combining HAPs with standard

SUBMITTER: Lindsay D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4999195 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature