Drug Resistance and the Solid Tumor Microenvironment

2007/09/25 by O. Tredan, Olivier Trédan, Carlos M. Galmarini +5 · 2,114 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Chemistry · Medicine · #Biology #Cancer #Cancer Cells and Metastasis #Cancer Research and Treatments #Cancer research #Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism #Cell #Chemistry #Drug #Drug resistance #Epigenetics #Gene #Genetics #Hypoxia (environmental) #Pharmacology #Solid tumor #Tumor cells #Tumor heterogeneity #Tumor microenvironment

paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/jnci/djm135

published in JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 99(19), 1441-1454 (Oxford University Press)

openalex publication_date 2007/09/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Resistance of human tumors to anticancer drugs is most often ascribed to gene mutations, gene amplification, or epigenetic changes that influence the uptake, metabolism, or export of drugs from single cells. Another important yet little-appreciated cause of anticancer drug resistance is the limited ability of drugs to penetrate tumor tissue and to reach all of the tumor cells in a potentially lethal concentration. To reach all viable cells in the tumor, anticancer drugs must be delivered efficiently through the tumor vasculature, cross the vessel wall, and traverse the tumor tissue. In addition, heterogeneity within the tumor microenvironment leads to marked gradients in the rate of cell proliferation and to regions of hypoxia and acidity, all of which can influence the sensitivity of the tumor cells to drug treatment. In this review, we describe how the tumor microenvironment may be involved in the resistance of solid tumors to chemotherapy and discuss potential strategies to improve the effectiveness of drug treatment by modifying factors relating to the tumor microenvironment.

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