Rachael Natrajan

Aug 24, 2023 | nature.com | Rachael Natrajan |Lisa M. Abegglen |Joshua D. Schiffman |Marcela Braga Mansur

AbstractThe emergence of drug-resistant cells, most of which have a mutated TP53 gene, prevents curative treatment in most advanced and common metastatic cancers of adults. Yet, a few, rarer malignancies, all of which are TP53 wild type, have high cure rates. In this Perspective, we discuss how common features of curable cancers offer insights into the evolutionary and developmental determinants of drug resistance. Acquired loss of TP53 protein function is the most common genetic change in cancer.