Signal Transduction in Human Cutaneous Melanoma and Target Drugs

E-ISSN： 1873-5576|13|8|843-866

ISSN： 1568-0096

Source： Current Cancer Drug Targets, Vol.13, Iss.8, 2013-10, pp. : 843-866

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Abstract

Malignant melanoma is an extremely aggressive and metastatic cancer, highly resistant to conventionaltreatment modalities. Understanding of fundamental mechanisms responsible for its genesis and progression is criticalfor development of successful chemotherapeutic treatment. It is becoming clear that melanoma results from complexchanges in multiple signaling pathways that control cell proliferation and ability to evade the cell death processes.Impairment or hyper-activation of some components of these pathways may lead to malignant transformation and cancerdevelopment. In the present review we consider the current data on involvement of such signaling pathways ascyclin/CDK, Ras/Raf/MEK/MAPK, JNK/c-Jun/AP-1, PI3K/Akt/PTEN/mTOR, IKK/I-#954;B/NF-#954;B, Wnt/#946;-catenin, Notch,Jak/STAT, MITF and some growth factors in regulation of the cell cycle progression, apoptosis and development ofhuman cutaneous melanoma. Understanding of molecular aberrations that underlie melanoma oncogenesis is essential forimprovement of diagnosis, accurate prognosis assessment, and rational design of effective therapeutics. Inhibitors of thesepathways may serve as promising tools for anti-melanoma targeted therapy. Some novel anti-melanoma target drugs arecharacterized.