Content area
Full Text
Introduction
Globally, the number of newly diagnosed lung cancer cases in 2022 reached 2.4803 million, topping the list of all cancers, with lung cancer-related deaths accounting for the majority of all cancer-related deaths and claiming over 1.8 million lives annually [1, 2–3]. According to histological classification, lung cancer is divided into small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with approximately 80–85% of patients diagnosed with NSCLC upon pathological examination [4, 5–6]. Surgical tumor resection has always been the preferred option for early-stage NSCLC patients, provided that the tumor is resectable and the patient can tolerate the surgery [7]. However, due to the unobtrusive and nonspecific early symptoms of lung cancer, the detection rate at an early stage is low, leading to many patients being diagnosed at an advanced stage with poor prognosis and high mortality [8]. Moreover, due to the presence of distant metastasis, most advanced-stage patients lose the opportunity for surgery, and medical treatment becomes their preferred treatment option. Despite promising therapeutic methods including immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery, the overall survival rate remains poor [9, 10, 11–12]. Therefore, it is particularly important to seek new therapeutic drugs for lung cancer patients.
Paclitaxel is a well-known chemotherapeutic drug used to treat various cancers, including lung cancer [13]. However, patients with NSCLC are prone to develop resistance to first-line paclitaxel chemotherapy [14]. Despite some progress in recent years, challenges still exist in identifying predictive biomarkers for personalized treatment and overcoming resistance [15]. It is important to seek follow-up treatments for patients with paclitaxel-resistant lung cancer or to overcome drug resistance.
Tanshinone IIA is an active component extracted from the plant Salvia miltiorrhiza, and its dry roots form the traditional Chinese medicine Danshen. Numerous previous studies have shown that tanshinone IIA can be used to inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells [16, 17–18]. Additionally, several studies have indicated that tanshinone IIA can overcome lung cancer resistance, including resistance to osimertinib and gefitinib [19, 20–21], and further studies have shown that tanshinone IIA can enhance the efficacy of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, cisplatin, and doxorubicin treatments [22, 23–24]. However, no studies have yet demonstrated its effectiveness against paclitaxel-resistant NSCLC.
Therefore, this study aims to explore whether tanshinone IIA can help inhibit the growth of paclitaxel-resistant...