Current Cancer Drug Targets - Volume 18, Issue 3, 2018

Cancer is a global health issue that impairs the life quality of patients and origins thousands of deaths annually worldwide. Six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate (STEAP1) was identified to be overexpressed in several types of cancers, namely in prostate cancer (PCa). Considering its secondary structure, associated with its location in the cell membrane, has been suggested a role in intercellular commu Read More

Obesity is an epidemic disease and correlates with cardiovascular diseases increasing the overall mortality. However, it has been recently demonstrated that cancer is an unexpected consequence of obesity. In most of the studies, it is evaluated with body mass index (BMI): high BMI increases cancer risk and reduces survival of many solid tumors. The main biologic and clinic topics regarding obese cancer patients are Read More

Autophagy is an intracellular lysosomal/vacuolar degradation system, in which the inner cytoplasmic cell membrane is degraded by the lysosomal hydrolases, followed by the resulting products released back into the cytosol. It is involved in many physiological processes which are crucial for cell growth and survival. However, disturbance in the autophagic process is often associated with a variety of human diseases, such as canc Read More

The DNA binding protein and chromatin structural regulator DEK regulate many cellular processes. These include proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, senescence, DNA repairing and the maintenance of stem cell phenotype. DEK is increasingly recognized as a crucial player in many steps of cancer initiation and progression, and is precisely regulated by abundant promoting and inhibiting factors directly or indirectly. Read More

Angiogenesis is involved in maintaining normal physiological processes like embryonic development, wound healing, inflammation and reproduction. Pathogenesis of various diseases like diabetic retinopathy, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer are associated with imbalanced angiogenesis. Angiogenic stimulators and inhibitors act together for keeping angiogenic switch in balance. Recently, miRNAs have been f Read More

Background: It remains unknown whether blockade of c-Met signaling and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling is effective in suppressing the growth of human colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of the c-Met inhibitor PHA-665752 alone and in combination with cetuximab on the growth of human CRC cells in vitro and in mouse xenografts. Methods: Human CRC cell lines (Caco2, Read More

Background: Genetic and epigenetic modifications are closely related to tumor initiation and progression and can provide guidance for understanding tumor functioning, potentially leading to the discovery of new therapies. Studies have associated hypoxia-related genes to tumor progression and chemo/radioresistance in brain tumors. Information on the expression profile of hypoxiarelated genes in pediatric med Read More

Background: Autophagy is a physiological pathway characterized by lysosomedependent self-digestion to recycle damaged or superfluous cellular content. Deregulation of autophagy hampers the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and contributes to tumorigenesis. However, during anticancer therapy, autophagy activation contributes to development of resistance. Thus autophagy has been recognized as an importa Read More