Emerging role of sialylation in cancer therapy resistance: Mechanisms and therapeutic implications

Resistance to existing cancer therapies is a major factor contributing to cancer's persistence as a global health challenge. Abnormal sialylation patterns, commonly due to changes in the expression of sialyltransferases (STs) is a well-established property of tumour cells. There is a growing body of evidence to demonstrate that sialylation is involved in resistance to chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy through a variety of mechanisms that are still being unveiled. In this review, we summarise the reported correlations between aberrant sialylation and cancer therapy resistance, the underlying mechanisms discovered thus far, and progress made in targeting sialylation to enhance responsiveness to cancer treatment.