Topic: Innovative Strategies for Overcoming Multidrug Resistance in Breast Cancer

Multidrug resistance (MDR) refers to the phenomenon where cancer cells develop simultaneous cross-resistance to a wide range of functionally and structurally unrelated chemotherapeutic drugs after exposure to an anticancer drug. Numerous mechanisms have been attributed to MDR, including enhanced drug efflux, increased DNA damage repair, reduced apoptosis, altered drug metabolism, and cancer stem cell dormancy. In breast cancer, MDR is the major cause of treatment failure and cancer recurrence. Inhibitors targeting MDR transporters have been identified to inhibit drug efflux from MDR cancer cells. Additionally, the design of novel nano-drug delivery systems has been used to overcome drug resistance. Photodynamic therapy has been employed to enhance drug uptake in tumor tissues. Furthermore, natural products and non-oncology drugs have also been repurposed to treat MDR breast cancer. Recent research revealed that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), particularly microRNA, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs, play a pivotal role in mediating these MDR mechanisms. The detection of these ncRNAs in body fluids could serve as novel biomarkers for predicting chemotherapy response in cancer patients.

The aim of this Special Issue is to compile updated reviews or innovative research articles about all aspects of novel strategies for overcoming MDR in breast cancer.

Proposed topics include, but are not limited to:
1. Targeting of cancer stem cells to overcome MDR;
2. Epigenetic modulators to eradicate MDR cancer cells;
3. Novel nanotechnology for overcoming MDR in cancer therapy;
4. Photodynamic therapy for treating MDR breast cancer;
5. Circumvention of chemoresistance by drug repurposing;
6. Biomarkers for predicting drug response in MDR cancer cells
7. Application of natural products to overcome MDR;
8. Clinical challenges in adopting combinatorial approaches to overcome MDR.

Drug resistance, cancer epigenetics, epigenetic modulators, photodynamic therapy, non-coding RNAs, nanotechnology, prognostic biomarkers

28 Feb 2025