National Cancer Institute Study Provides Clues about How Cancer Cells Develop Resistance to Chemotherapy Drug; Gene Boosts Resistance to Chemo Drug

NIH -- Researchers have shown that increased expression of a gene called SIRT1 in cancer cells plays a significant role in the development of resistance to the chemotherapy drug cisplatin. The SIRT1 gene, which regulates several important cellular processes including nutrient use and metabolism, appears to contribute to the development of cisplatin resistance by reducing the uptake and use of glucose by cells and by altering the function of their mitochondria, which are cellular structures that produce most of the energy in cells. These findings, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and colleagues, were published in the Sept. 15, 2008, issue of Molecular Cancer Research.