Drug-resilient Cancer Cell Phenotype Is Acquired via Polyploidization Associated with Early Stress Response Coupled to HIF2α Transcriptional Regulation

In response to cisplatin treatment, some surviving cancer cells undergo whole-genome duplications without mitosis, which represents a mechanism of drug resistance. This study presents mechanistic data to implicate AP-1 and HIF2α signaling in the formation of this surviving cell phenotype. The results open a new avenue for targeting drug-resistant cells.