Dysregulation of calcium homeostasis in cancer and its role in chemoresistance

Abstract

Globally, cancer, as a major public health concern, poses a severe threat to people’s well-being. Advanced and specialized therapies can now cure the majority of people with early-stage cancer. However, emerging resistance to traditional and novel chemotherapeutic drugs remains a serious issue in clinical medicine. Chemoresistance often leads to cancer recurrence, metastasis, and increased mortality, accounting for 90% of chemotherapy failures. Thus, it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms of chemoresistance and find novel therapeutic approaches for cancer treatment. Among the several factors responsible for chemoresistance, calcium (Ca2+) dysregulation plays a significant role in cancer progression and chemoresistance. Therefore, targeting this derailed Ca2+ signalling for cancer therapy has become an emerging research area. Of note, the Ca2+ signal and its proteins are a multifaceted and potent tool by which cells achieve specific outcomes. Depending on cell survival needs, Ca2+ is either upregulated or downregulated in both chemosensitive and chemoresistant cancer cells. Consequently, the appropriate treatment should be selected based on Ca2+ signalling dysregulation. This review discusses the role of Ca2+ in cancer cells and the targeting of Ca2+ channels, pumps, and exchangers. Furthermore, we have emphasised the role of Ca2+ in chemoresistance and therapeutic strategies. In conclusion, targeting Ca2+ signalling is a multifaceted process. Methods such as site-specific drug delivery, target-based drug-designing, and targeting two or more Ca2+ proteins simultaneously may be explored; however, further clinical studies are essential to validate Ca2+ blockers’ anti-cancer efficacy.