Reversing the effects of drug resistance in lung cancer patients can save lives!

BBC News: It may be possible to save more lives by reversing drug resistance in lung cancer patients, scientists say.

Most lung cancer deaths are the result of the tumor adapting to block the effects of chemotherapy drugs. Scientists have now pinpointed the chemistry which one type of the disease - small cell lung cancer - uses to achieve this effect.

The Cancer Research UK study, which appeared in the EMBO Journal, raises hopes of sabotaging this process.
The researchers have identified a number of key proteins, which they believe might play a key role in the development of resistance, not only of small cell lung cancer, but other forms of cancer too.

The majority of small cell lung cancer patients can only be treated with chemotherapy because most are undetected until the disease is at an advanced stage when it is too late for surgery.

Tumours with a protein called FGF-2 are known to be less likely to respond to treatment.

The latest study proves that this is because the protein plays an active role in the development of drug resistance.

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