From Lab to Life: Why Cancer Resists Treatment

Stat: 13%: The average five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society. This is compared to a 90% average five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with breast cancer. Story: Scientists have made tremendous progress on cancer research to improve patient survival rates. But challenges still exist because some cancers can suddenly become unaffected by treatment.  In this episode, Christina Towers, a cancer cell biologist from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, explains how cancer cells can adapt their metabolic processes—through a mechanism she studies called autophagy—to resist drug therapies. She discusses how her research studying this process could lead to new approaches to prevent and control a cancer’s resistance to treatment—and, ultimately, save lives. And as the first Black faculty member at Salk, Towers shares how her mantra, “Honored to be first but refuse to be the last,” guides her efforts to increase diversity across the scientific community.