Baylor College of Medicine researchers develop drug to combat cancer resistance

Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine in the United States have developed a new drug, CS18, designed to combat therapeutic resistance in cancer cells. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, focuses on interrupting the mechanisms that allow cancer cells to survive treatment.

Lead researcher Dr. Weei-Chin Lin noted that while some therapies are initially effective, many patients relapse because cancer cells activate compensatory biological pathways to survive toxic treatments. The CS18 compound targets a biological “control center” involving the Topoisomerase IIB binding protein 1 (TopBP1), which regulates multiple pathways that drive cancer progression. The goal of this strategy is to provide more durable responses and overcome the resistance that often hinders oncological treatments.