| Summary: | Colorectal cancer: pathways to drug resistance The interaction between two signaling pathways may be related to resistance to a leading cancer drug in colorectal cancer cells. The drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely used to limit malignant cell proliferation, but some cancers, including colorectal cancers, are resistant to 5-FU. Zhigang Guo at Nanjing Normal University, China, and co-workers have uncovered the signaling pathways behind 5-FU resistance in colorectal cancer cell lines. They found that 5-FU-resistant cells expressed high levels of two proteins indicative of an over-active Wnt signaling pathway, a crucial pathway in healthy development, the disruption of which is implicated in many diseases. This upregulated pathway suppressed another signaling pathway, leading to reduced cancer cell death. This interaction between the pathways could prove to be a valuable therapeutic target to limit resistance to 5-FU.
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