耐药持久性（DTP）细胞群最初是在抗生素耐药细菌生物膜中发现的。此后，在癌细胞中发现了具有相似特征的类似群体，并与缺乏潜在基因组改变的治疗耐药性相关。过去十年的研究提高了我们对 DTP 细胞在癌症中生物学作用的理解，尽管这些细胞在治疗抵抗中的作用的临床知识仍然有限。尽管如此，针对这一人群预计将提供新的治疗机会。在本视角中，我们的目标是提供 DTP 表型的明确定义，讨论这些细胞的基本特征、其生物标志物和脆弱性，并鼓励对 DTP 细胞进行进一步研究，这可能会增进我们的理解并促进开发更有效的抗癌疗法.© 2023。施普林格自然有限公司。

Drug-tolerant persister (DTP) cell populations were originally discovered in antibiotic-resistant bacterial biofilms. Similar populations with comparable features have since been identified among cancer cells and have been linked with treatment resistance that lacks an underlying genomic alteration. Research over the past decade has improved our understanding of the biological roles of DTP cells in cancer, although clinical knowledge of the role of these cells in treatment resistance remains limited. Nonetheless, targeting this population is anticipated to provide new treatment opportunities. In this Perspective, we aim to provide a clear definition of the DTP phenotype, discuss the underlying characteristics of these cells, their biomarkers and vulnerabilities, and encourage further research on DTP cells that might improve our understanding and enable the development of more effective anticancer therapies.© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.