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Molecular and Clinical Advances in Anticancer Drug Resistance pp 251–260Cite as

The role of metallothioneins in anticancer drug resistance

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Part of the book series: Cancer Treatment and Research ((CTAR,volume 57))

Abstract

It is an unfortunate reality that many patients with solid tumors initially sensitive to anticancer chemotherapy subsequently develop recurrences that resist further treatment with these agents. This problem has fostered research efforts to define the mechanisms of resistance and to determine strategies to circumvent them. cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II (cDDP) is widely used in a variety of solid tumors and has dramatically altered the survival of young men with germ-cell tumors of the testis. It also has utility in treating epithelial cancers of the head and neck and bladder, as well as in the therapy of ovarian tumors. Despite this success, the problem of intrinsic and acquired resistance to cDDP is important, and strategies to reverse it would be immensely beneficial. In the following review we will outline the role metallothionein may have in cytotoxic drug resistance, with an emphasis on its possible involvement in resistance to cDDP.

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Authors
  1. Robert R. Bahnson
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  2. Alakananda Basu
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  3. John S. Lazo
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fox Chase Cancer Center, USA

    Robert F. Ozols

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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Bahnson, R.R., Basu, A., Lazo, J.S. (1991). The role of metallothioneins in anticancer drug resistance. In: Ozols, R.F. (eds) Molecular and Clinical Advances in Anticancer Drug Resistance. Cancer Treatment and Research, vol 57. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3872-1_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3872-1_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6726-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3872-1

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