Multidrug resistance in solid tumor and its reversal

Abstract

Chemotherapy was first used for the treatment of advanced lymphomas in the 1940s [1]. Since then several classes of chemotherapeutic compounds such as alkylating agents, antimetabolites, anthracyclines, plant alkaloids, and later topoisomerase inhibitors and taxanes have been identified or synthesized to treat various forms of cancer [2, 3]. Although numerous in vitro and animal studies have demonstrated their effectiveness in inducing cancer cell death (cytotoxic) or cell growth arrest (cytostatic), these promising anticancer activities seen in the controlled environment of the laboratory frequently do not translate well into the expected clinical outcomes[4-8]. © 2009 Springer-Verlag New York.