New cancer strategy aims to prevent drug resistance

Researchers are proposing a new strategy to combat cancer by changing therapies before tumors develop drug resistance. Led by Dr. Robert Noble from City, St George’s, University of London, the study suggests that instead of waiting for a tumor to regrow after initial treatment, doctors should switch to a different therapy while the tumor is still shrinking.

Standard clinical approaches often continue a single treatment until tests show the cancer has begun to grow again. However, this delay allows surviving cancer cells to undergo mutations and evolve resistance. By introducing a new therapy earlier, doctors may prevent resistant cell populations from gaining control, effectively creating a moving target that limits the tumor's ability to adapt.