Insights of Cisplatin Resistance in Cervical Cancer: A Decision Making for Cellular Survival

The clinical scenario of acquired cisplatin resistance is considered as a major impediment in cervical cancer treatment. Bulky drug-DNA adducts formed by cisplatin elicits DNA damage response (DDR) which either subsequently induces apoptosis in the cervical cancer cells or enables them to adapt with drug assault by invigorating pro-survival molecular cascades. When HPV infected cervical cancer cells encounter cisplatin, a complex molecular interaction between deregulated tumor suppressors, DNA damage-repair enzymes, and prosurvival molecules get initiated. Ambiguous molecular triggers allow cancer cells to cull apoptosis by opting for a survival fate. Overriding of the apoptotic cues by the pro-survival cues renders a cisplatin resistant phenotype in the tumor microenvironment. The present review undrapes the impact of deregulated signaling nexus formed due to crosstalk of the key molecules related to cell survival and apoptosis in orchestrating platinum resistance in cervical cancer.