Hypoxia Increases Resistance of Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells to Apoptosis Induced by Gemcitabine

Abstract

These data demonstrate that hypoxia can induce resistance of pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine mainly through the PI3K/Akt/NF-kappa B pathways and partially through the MAPK(Erk) signaling pathway. Because PKI 166 prevented the activation of PI3K/Akt/NF-kappa B and MAPK(Erk) pathways, the combination of this tyrosine kinase inhibitor with gemcitabine should be an effective therapy for pancreatic cancer.