Whether cancer-associated fibroblasts in the tumor environment promote or inhibit drug sensitivity of the cancer cells has been a long-standing debate in the research field. In this regard, researchers of Moffitt Cancer Center, USA, have demonstrated that the promotion or inhibition of drug sensitivity by cancer-associated fibroblasts depends on the type of tumor cell and the drug used in the treatment. Study The impact of cancer-associated fibroblasts on drug responses was examined among different non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines.
Observations Cancer-associated fibroblasts induced resistance to two different MEK inhibitors in NSCLC cell lines with a mutant KRAS protein, while in NSCLC cell lines with a mutant EGFR protein, cancer-associated fibroblasts sensitized the cancer cells to EGFR inhibitors. In the case of normal lung-associated fibroblasts, no sensitization of…
