Abstract

The response to chemotherapy by tumor cells depends on the concentration of cytostatics accumulated inside the cells. The accumulation of anticancer drugs in tumor cells is mainly dependent on functional expression of efflux and influx transporters and to a minor extent on passive diffusion through the membrane. Efflux transporters of the ABC family are partially responsible for the chemoresistance of cancer cells by secreting these cytostatics. Over the past decades, the role of ABC transporters in the chemoresistance of various malignant tumors has been very well documented. By contrast, very little is known about the impact on tumor therapy of influx transporters belonging to the solute carrier transporters (SLC family). In this review, we focus on the interaction of SLC22 transporters with cytostatics, the expression of these transporters in tumor cells as well as their impact on the chemosensitivity of cancer cells.