The Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Unfolded Protein Response in Gynecological Cancers: A Narrative Review. (PubMed, Cureus)
Therapeutically, IRE1 RNase inhibitors (e.g., MKC-8866, B-I09), PERK/EIF2AK3 pathway modulators, protein-disulfide isomerase inhibition, and agents that trigger irrecoverable ER stress show preclinical efficacy, including synergy with platinum, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, HDAC6 blockers, and PD-1 inhibitors...Thus, ER-stress/UPR signaling is a convergent, targetable axis in gynecologic cancers. Priorities include validating UPR-based prognostic signatures, defining context-specific vulnerabilities (e.g., genotype-informed IRE1/XBP1 dependence), and executing biomarker-driven clinical trials that combine UPR-targeted agents with standard chemotherapy, PARP inhibition, and immunotherapy to overcome resistance and improve patient outcomes.