A naturally generated decoy of the prostate apoptosis response-4 protein overcomes therapy resistance in tumors

Despite advances in targeted therapies, standard chemotherapy remains the main line of treatment for most cancer patients. However, intrinsic resistance as well as acquired resistance remains an important obstacle to cancer treatment and having an impact on reducing patient’s survival. The identification of mechanisms of resistance and biomarkers that may overcome resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs is one of the main goals of cancer research. This editorial examines the recent work of Hebbar et al. (1), whose data bring out new information into the mechanisms of Par-4 action on the tumour cells chemosensitivity and their potential to overcome resistance to cancer therapy.