Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
8787390 Journal of Cancer Research and Practice 2017 4 Pages PDF
Abstract
Metronomic chemotherapy involves the administration of cytotoxic chemotherapy at reduced doses administered at regular and frequent intervals. Low-dose metronomic (LDM) chemotherapy represents an alternative to standard maximum tolerated dose (MTD) chemotherapy as it is less toxic and offers additional beneficial biological effects; such effects include inhibition of tumor neovascularization and reduced recruitment of immune-suppressive cells. In desmoplastic cancers such as breast and pancreatic cancers, carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor stroma constitute an important cellular target of systemic chemotherapy, and the treatment-modulated CAFs may deleteriously influence treatment efficacy. Herein, we reviewed the novel roles of CAFs in metronomic chemotherapy in desmoplastic cancers. We discuss the differential effects of MTD- and LDM-chemotherapy on the heterotypic interactions among CAFs and cells in the other cancer compartments, emphasizing the roles of cancer stem cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. The novel mechanistic roles of CAFs in cancer therapy provide an additional rationale for the clinical development of LDM chemotherapy.
Related Topics
Health Sciences Medicine and Dentistry Oncology
Authors
, , ,