What research area is considered just as vital as finding the initial effective drug for difficult cancers?
Answer
Research into resistance mechanisms—understanding why the cancer stops responding to treatment.
For cancers that currently resist definitive cures, therapeutic success depends not only on initial drug efficacy but also on anticipating failure. Since many aggressive tumors possess biological mechanisms to circumvent treatment effects, understanding precisely *why* a cancer stops responding—i.e., investigating the resistance mechanisms—is crucial. This knowledge is fundamental because it directly informs the next generation of treatments, allowing scientists to design follow-up therapies that counteract the evasion strategy the cancer has developed against the previous drug regimen, ensuring sustained control.
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