Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Sep 29;6(4):1986-2011.
doi: 10.3390/cancers6041986.

STAT3: A Novel Molecular Mediator of Resistance to Chemoradiotherapy

Melanie Spitzner  1 , Reinhard Ebner  2 , Hendrik A Wolff  3 , B Michael Ghadimi  4 , Jürgen Wienands  5 , Marian Grade  6
Affiliations
Review

STAT3: A Novel Molecular Mediator of Resistance to Chemoradiotherapy

Melanie Spitzner et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) represents a standard treatment for many human cancers, frequently combined with radical surgical resection. However, a considerable percentage of primary cancers are at least partially resistant to CRT, which represents a substantial clinical problem, because it exposes cancer patients to the potential side effects of both irradiation and chemotherapy. It is therefore exceedingly important to determine the molecular characteristics underlying CRT-resistance and to identify novel molecular targets that can be manipulated to re-sensitize resistant tumors to CRT. In this review, we highlight much of the recent evidence suggesting that the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays a prominent role in mediating CRT-resistance, and we outline why inhibition of STAT3 holds great promise for future multimodal treatment concepts in oncology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
STAT3 modulates several signaling pathways and affects numerous cellular processes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Outlook: JAK/STAT activity-guided patient stratification and management.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rodel C., Liersch T., Becker H., Fietkau R., Hohenberger W., Hothorn T., Graeven U., Arnold D., Lang-Welzenbach M., Raab H.R., et al. Preoperative chemoradiotherapy and postoperative chemotherapy with fluorouracil and oxaliplatin versus fluorouracil alone in locally advanced rectal cancer: Initial results of the German CAO/ARO/AIO-04 randomised phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2012;13:679–687. - PubMed
    1. Jagsi R. Progress and controversies: Radiation therapy for invasive breast cancer. CA Cancer J. Clin. 2013;64:135–152. - PubMed
    1. Reck M., Heigener D.F., Mok T., Soria J.C., Rabe K.F. Management of non-small-cell lung cancer: Recent developments. Lancet. 2013;382:709–719. - PubMed
    1. Thariat J., Hannoun-Levi J.M., Sun Myint A., Vuong T., Gerard J.P. Past, present, and future of radiotherapy for the benefit of patients. Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 2013;10:52–60. - PubMed
    1. Seiwert T.Y., Salama J.K., Vokes E.E. The concurrent chemoradiation paradigm—General principles. Nat. Clin. Pract. Oncol. 2007;4:86–100. - PubMed