ABC Transporters and Multidrug Resistance in Ovarian Cancer

The development of multidrug resistance(MDR) to chemotherapeutic agents plays a major role in the failure of clinical cancer therapy.One of the mechanisms underlying this process is the over expression of ATP-binding cassette transporters(ABC transporters).Many tumors express ABC transporters, and their activities as drug efflux pumps allows many ABC transporters to eliminate a variety of anticancer drugs from tumor cells, decreasing drug efficacy, and leading to drug resistance.It is useful to understand the relationship between the structures and functions of the ABC transporters and drug resistance and the prognosis of ovarian cancer patients for individualizing treatment in patients.This review focused on the current knowledge about the relationship between ABC transporters and drug resistance in ovarian cancer, and described potential therapeutic strategies to overcome ABC transporter-mediated drug resistance.