Options for modulation of drug resistance in ovarian cancer.

The objective of this paper is to present an update of mechanisms responsible for drug resistance in ovarian cancer and the possible therapeutic options to modulate this resistance using literature review with emphasis on data acquired in studies comprising ovarian tumor samples. The classic concepts on resistance in ovarian cancer, namely platinum and multidrug resistance, are briefly discussed, followed by a description of more recent insights concerning the role of apoptosis in the development of chemoresistance. A wide variety of mechanisms may be responsible for drug resistance in ovarian cancer. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that defects in the intra- and extracellular apoptotic pathways are an important cause of resistance to cytotoxic agents which opens several new treatment strategies.