Mechanisms of Drug Resistance in Neoplastic Cells

Bristol-Myers Cancer Symposia, Volume 9: Mechanisms of Drug Resistance in Neoplastic Cells provides information on both basic scientific and clinical studies on the causes and implications of tumor cell resistance to common antineoplastic agents. The book describes the colon cancer as a model for resistance to antineoplastic drugs; mathematical modeling of drug resistance; and the mechanism of induced gene amplification in mammalian cells. The text also discusses the cellular concomitants of multidrug resistance; resistance to alkylating agents; and the phosphoprotein and protein kinase C changes in human multidrug-resistant cancer cells. Novel drugs that affect glutathione metabolism; the regulation of genes encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes in normal and preneoplastic tissues; and the relevance of glutathione S-transferases to anticancer drug resistance are also considered. The book further tackles the cellular resistance to cyclophosphamide; the preclinical and clinical experiences with drug combinations designed to inhibit DNA repair in resistant human tumor cells; and the modification of the cytotoxicity of DNA-directed chemotherapeutic agents by polyamine depletion. The text also demonstrates multidrug resistance and the circumvention of resistance. Oncologists, molecular biologists, biochemists, geneticists, and pharmacologists will find the book invaluable.