Current Cancer Drug Targets - Volume 11, Issue 7, 2011

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) are ligand-activated transcription factors. Three subtypes -- PPAR alpha, PPAR beta, and PPAR gamma -- have been identified and are differentially expressed in tissues. Originally, they were described as molecular regulators of lipid metabolism; recently, it has been shown that they are also involved in regulating the cell cycle and apoptosis in both normal and tumora Read More

Recent in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies have suggested that the Oriental herbal compound penta-1, 2, 3, 4, 6-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose (PGG) is a promising chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer. Little is known of its safety for chronic chemoprevention use and virtually nothing is known of its in vivo responsive proteins in the target organ. Here we treated male C57BL/6 mice with daily oral administration of PGG at Read More

The occurrence of chemoresistance is a serious problem in the treatment of cancer, urging the need for secondand third-line treatment options that rely on different cell death pathways to overcome previously acquired resistance mechanisms. The inhibition of proteasomal activity by specific proteasome inhibitors or cross-reactivity of certain protease inhibitors with proteasomal enzymes recently became of interest b Read More

Adenovirus vectors (Adv) are the most frequently used vectors in gene therapy research, especially in cancer gene therapy. However, despite encouraging preclinical and early clinical results, the successful clinical utility of gene therapy has not yet been fully realized. Challenges to clinical trial success for targeted Adv include inefficient Advmediated gene transfer (because many tumor cells lack Adv receptors), poor transd Read More

Following the discovery that defective retinoid signaling directly contributes to tumorigenesis, and, that retinoids have an anti-cancer effect in vitro and in vivo, retinoids have become part of the routine care in children with neuroblastoma at the stage of minimal residual disease. However, many patients still relapse following retinoid therapy, demonstrating the need for more effective retinoids and better assays to predict retinoid Read More

Epigenetic changes play an important role in cancer pathogenesis. Hypermethylation of DNA generally results in decreased expression of tumor suppressor genes and defective cell cycle control. This is a hallmark of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia. Fortunately, epigenetic changes are potentially reversible and thus remain an attractive target for anticancer therapy. Inhibitors of DNA methyltransf Read More

Gastric cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and treatment options include surgery and chemotherapy. Because of its prevalence, chemotherapy for gastric cancer treatment represents an active area of pharmacology research, and different small compounds have been used as single treatments or in combination therapy. Unfortunately, chemoresistance is a common phenomenon in gastric cancer Read More

Androgens, acting through the androgen receptor (AR), are responsible for many male reproductive and nonreproductive functions. Moreover, aberrant androgen/AR signaling plays a critical role in androgen-dependent prostate cancer (PCa) as well as castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The formation of a productive AR transcriptional complex requires AR cofactors that interact functionally and structurally with th Read More

Epigenetics play a critical role in controlling normal gene expression and altered epigenetics can lead to abnormal cellular differentiation, proliferation and survival. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy in children and is characterized by numerous epigenetic abnormalities. These epigenetic changes correspond to repressed activity of some genes and inappropriate activation of oth Read More