Drug resistance is a powerful menace in certain breast and ovarian cancers

(Delthia Ricks/ MedicalXpress) –– Just as bacteria, viruses and fungi develop strategies to outsmart antimicrobial medications, cancer cells can become resistant to chemotherapy. And among tumors, those associated with triple negative breast cancer and ovarian tumors can develop a powerful form of resistance.

In an intriguing line of research, a multi-center team of U.S. researchers has found that epigenetic signatures in breast and ovarian cancers may ultimately guide physicians’ treatment decisions for a subset of patients whose cancers are notoriously capable of thwarting chemo.

By pinpointing which molecular signatures correlate with optimum treatment response, oncologists can be better informed when designing treatment regimens for cancers with reputations for aggressive drug resistance. (…)