Research Progress of the Combating Drug Resistance in Cancer Immunotherapy

Abstract

Cancer drug resistance is one of the reasons why cancer remains one of the deadliest diseases. Many drugs show initial efficacy in treatment but fail to exert their effects due to various mechanisms, which is particularly evident in immunotherapy. Currently, research is ongoing on anti-resistance drugs that target immune suppression, mutations, and the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the current immunotherapy approaches have not yielded satisfactory results, with most patients developing long-term resistance or the drugs themselves not being ideal for clinical use. This article reviews the causes of resistance and common immunotherapies along with their associated anti-resistance strategies. It is found that the clinical efficacy of anti-resistance drugs and long-term survival rates for patients are not ideal. Future research should focus on improving individual and cooperative effects of cytokine therapy, CAR-T cell therapy, ICI, and combination therapies to avoid the development of secondary resistance. The role of cytotoxicity, as one of the most significant treatment barriers, should also be investigated. Many anti-resistance drugs are limited in their use due to the damage they cause to normal cell survival and metabolism.