Evidence of securin-mediated resistance to gefitinib-induced apoptosis in human cancer cells.

Gefitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), has been used to treat numerous cancers; however, evidence has shown that cancer cells can become resistant to gefitinib during therapy. Here, we report a human proto-oncogene, securin, which displays resistance to death in cancer cells. Gefitinib treatment decreases securin levels at the protein level by inducing protein instability but did not affect on the securin gene expression.