Current Cancer Drug Targets - Volume 7, Issue 6, 2007

Breast cancer is a commonly occurring disease in women and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In the past decades, the development of medical endocrine therapies has led to a significant improvement in treatment outcome for this type of cancer. This therapy is targeting specific hormone receptors that are overexpressed by the tumor cells. In breast cancer, estrogen and progesterone receptors are important tar Read More

Immortality of tumour cells is strictly correlated to telomerase activity. Telomerase is overexpressed in about 85% of tumour cells and maintains telomere length contributing to cell immortalisation, whereas in somatic cells telomeres progressively shorten until cell death occurs by apoptosis. Different drugs can promote telomeric G-rich overhangs which fold into quadruplex structures that inhibit telomerase activity. Detailed s Read More

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of clonal disorders of hematopoietic progenitors manifest by cytopenias, bleeding, infection, and potential for progression to acute myelogenous leukemia. The wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, including variability in illness severity and potential for progression, suggest that myelodysplastic syndromes encompass a multitude of disorders, likely involving num Read More

The nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) plays an important role in tumorigenesis by affecting processes such as tumor initiation, promotion, growth, and metastasis. NF-κB induces the expression of genes that are known to confer resistance to apoptosis. Therefore, its activation has been associated with the development of chemo- and radiation resistance in cancer cells. NF-κB is constitutively activated in many types of tumor cells b Read More

Anticancer agents that interfere with tubulin functions are widely used in the clinic and have a broad spectrum of activity against both haematological malignancies and solid tumours. These Microtubule-Targeting Agents (MTAs), such as the taxanes and Vinca alkaloids, bind to the β subunit of α/β tubulin and disrupt microtubule dynamics in tumour cells, ultimately leading to mitotic block and subsequent cell death. R Read More

Subsequent to an initiating event, tumor promotion requires sustained cell proliferation to allow for progressive accumulation of pro-oncogenic mutations. The unique characteristics of stem cells would seem to implicate these cells as particularly suitable targets for carcinogens. Several lines of evidence suggest that tumors harbor a small population of cancer stem cells (CSC) which both give rise to the bulk of the tumor and Read More

Prostate cancer is initially dependent on androgens for growth; hence, recurrent prostate is treated with androgen ablation which may result in progression to androgen independence characterized by a resistance to such therapy. Androgens bind to and activate the androgen receptor (AR), a member of the nuclear steroid receptor family of transcription factors, which regulates prostate cancer cell proliferation and survival i Read More