Evolution of Molecular Targeted Cancer Therapy: Mechanisms of Drug Resistance and Novel Opportunities Identified by CRISPR-Cas9 Screening

• Published in: Frontiers in oncology Vol. 12; p. 755053
• Main Authors: Hou, Jue, He, Zongsheng, Liu, Tian, Chen, Dongfeng, Wang, Bin, Wen, Qinglian, Zheng, Xi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 17.03.2022
• Subjects: CRISPR-Cas9 screening; drug resistance; molecular targeted therapy; Oncology; patient-derived organoid; patient-derived xenograft (PDX); CRISPR-Cas9 screening; molecular targeted therapy; drug resistance; patient-derived xenograft (PDX); patient-derived organoid
• ISSN: 2234-943X; 2234-943X
• DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.755053

Molecular targeted therapy has revolutionized the landscape of cancer treatment due to better therapeutic responses and less systemic toxicity. However, therapeutic resistance is a major challenge in clinical settings that hinders continuous clinical benefits for cancer patients. In this regard, unraveling the mechanisms of drug resistance may identify new druggable genetic alterations for molecularly targeted therapies, thus contributing to improved therapeutic efficacies. The recent rapid development of novel methodologies including CRISPR-Cas9 screening technology and patient-derived models provides powerful tools to dissect the underlying mechanisms of resistance to targeted cancer therapies. In this review, we updated therapeutic targets undergoing preclinical and clinical evaluation for various cancer types. More importantly, we provided comprehensive elaboration of high throughput CRISPR-Cas9 screening in deciphering potential mechanisms of unresponsiveness to molecularly targeted therapies, which will shed light on the discovery of novel opportunities for designing next-generation anti-cancer drugs.