New trends for overcoming ABCG2/BCRP-mediated resistance to cancer therapies

David Westover, Fengzhi Li

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters make up a superfamily of transmembrane proteins that play a critical role in the development of drug resistance. This phenomenon is especially important in oncology, where superfamily member ABCG2 (also called BCRP - breast cancer resistance protein) is known to interact with dozens of anti-cancer agents that are ABCG2 substrates. In addition to the well-studied and well-reviewed list of cytotoxic and targeted agents that are substrates for the ABCG2 transporter, a growing body of work links ABCG2 to multiple photodynamic therapy (PDT) agents, and there is a limited body of evidence suggesting that ABCG2 may also play a role in resistance to radiation therapy. In addition, the focus of ABC transporter research in regards to therapeutic development has begun to shift in the past few years. The shift has been away from using pump inhibitors for reversing resistance, toward the development of therapeutic agents that are poor substrates for these efflux pump proteins. This approach may result in the development of drug regimens that circumvent ABC transporter-mediated resistance entirely. Here, it is our intention to review: 1) recent discoveries that further characterize the role of ABCG2 in oncology, and 2) advances in reversing and circumventing ABC transporter-mediated resistance to anti-cancer therapies.