Chapter 13 - Overcoming drug resistance in ovarian cancer: Chemo-sensitizing agents, targeted therapies

Abstract

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the highest death-causing cancers among women around the world. Treatments include platinum-based drugs, for example, cisplatin exerts anticancer effects via multiple mechanisms. Although there are major therapeutic options exist, development of strategies based on chemo-sensitization is still a major goal to improve the clinical outcomes. Existing peer-reviewed literature points out multiple factors associated with the development of drug resistance. This chapter is focused on such factors including mutations, signaling pathways, tumor hypoxia, transcription factors, cancer stem cells, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and tumor microenvironment, etc., that have more potential to be investigated for the development of chemo-resistant drugs and their role(s) in chemosensitivity. Overcoming the drug resistance could significantly be a beneficial treatment strategy to improve chemosensitization. Taken together, multiple mechanisms that lead to resistance of OC cells to drugs might have a great impact in ovarian cancer management.