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Santoni M, Pantano F, Amantini C, Nabissi M, Conti A, Burattini L, Zoccoli A, Berardi R, Santoni G, Tonini G, Santini D, Cascinu S. Emerging strategies to overcome the resistance to current mTOR inhibitors in renal cell carcinoma. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2014; 1845:221-31. [PMID: 24480319 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2014.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2013] [Revised: 01/16/2014] [Accepted: 01/18/2014] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has emerged as an attractive cancer therapeutic target. Treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has improved significantly with the advent of agents targeting the mTOR pathway, such as temsirolimus and everolimus. Unfortunately, a number of potential mechanisms that may lead to resistance to mTOR inhibitors have been proposed. In this paper, we discuss the mechanisms underlying resistance to mTOR inhibitors, which include the downstream effectors of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mTOR pathway, the activation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), the PIM kinase family, PTEN expression, elevated superoxide levels, stimulation of autophagy, immune cell response and ERK/MAPK, Notch and Aurora signaling pathways. Moreover, we present an updated analysis of clinical trials available on PubMed Central and www.clinicaltrials.gov, which were pertinent to the resistance to rapalogs. The new frontier of inhibiting the mTOR pathway is to identify agents targeting the feedback loops and cross talks with other pathways involved in the acquired resistance to mTOR inhibitors. The true goal will be to identify biomarkers predictive of sensitivity or resistance to efficiently develop novel agents with the aim to avoid toxicities and to better choose the active drug for the right patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Santoni
- Medical Oncology, AOU Ospedali Riuniti, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, via Conca 71, 60126 Ancona, Italy.
| | - Francesco Pantano
- Department of Medical Oncology, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Consuelo Amantini
- School of Pharmacy, Section of Experimental Medicine, University of Camerino, via Madonna delle Carceri 9, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Massimo Nabissi
- School of Pharmacy, Section of Experimental Medicine, University of Camerino, via Madonna delle Carceri 9, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Alessandro Conti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche Specialistiche ed Odontostomatologiche, Clinica di Urologia, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, via Conca 71, 60126 Ancona, Italy
| | - Luciano Burattini
- Medical Oncology, AOU Ospedali Riuniti, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, via Conca 71, 60126 Ancona, Italy
| | - Alice Zoccoli
- Department of Medical Oncology, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Rossana Berardi
- Medical Oncology, AOU Ospedali Riuniti, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, via Conca 71, 60126 Ancona, Italy
| | - Giorgio Santoni
- School of Pharmacy, Section of Experimental Medicine, University of Camerino, via Madonna delle Carceri 9, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Tonini
- Department of Medical Oncology, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Daniele Santini
- Department of Medical Oncology, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, via Alvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Cascinu
- Medical Oncology, AOU Ospedali Riuniti, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, via Conca 71, 60126 Ancona, Italy
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