Insulin Like Growth Factors And Cancer

This Special Issue of Cells on “Insulin-Like Growth Factors in Development, Cancers and Aging” provides a collection of modern articles dealing with the role of insulin-like growth factors (IGF1) in cancer biology, aging and development. Featured articles explore basic and clinical aspects of the IGF1 system, including post-genomic analyses as well as novel approaches to target the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) in oncology.

The book will detail the history, successes, and failures of targeted therapies for cancer, with a particular focus on IGF systems and cancer.

Insulin-like growth factors are ubiquitously expressed and are crucial for growth and function of almost all cells. Together with their binding proteins and receptors, they form a widely studied biological system involving many proteins and characterized by complex interactions. In addition to its significance in growth and development, the insulin-like growth factor system also has important roles in a wide variety of pathological states. This has led to interest in the therapeutic potential of insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins as candidate drug targets. This comprehensive book contains current information on both basic science and clinical aspects of IGFs and their regulatory proteins, with emphasis on their relevance to cancer.

Over the past five years there has been an explosion of "targeted therapies" for cancer treatment. In most cases, these therapies have been based on pre-clinical data showing that specific molecules play an important role in regulating the malignant phenotype. In breast cancer, there is compelling rationale that such targeted strategies should be successful. Targeting of estrogen receptor ? (ER?) has proven to be a successful way to reduce breast cancer risk, decrease the risk of death and recurrence in an adjuvant setting, and remains the first choice of treatment for advanced disease. With this success, it is hoped that other molecular pathways could also be successfully exploited. This publication reviews the role of the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) in breast cancer. Over 100 years ago George Beatson made an intuitive leap connecting breast cancer therapy with ovarian function He removed the ovaries from a premenopausal woman with breast cancer; he reasoned that ovarian function regulated normal mammary gland function, therefore the ovaries may influence the malignant phenotype. Other discussion included cover the function of IGF action in the normal mammary gland using mouse model systems where expression and function can be manipulated and the patterns of expression of the IGFs, their binding proteins, and their receptors in the normal gland.

This Special Issue of Cells on “Insulin-Like Growth Factors in Development, Cancers and Aging” provides a collection of modern articles dealing with the role of insulin-like growth factors (IGF1) in cancer biology, aging and development. Featured articles explore basic and clinical aspects of the IGF1 system, including post-genomic analyses as well as novel approaches to target the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) in oncology. The present Special Issue highlights some of the most important topics in the broad area of IGF research, including the role of IGF1 in aging and longevity, attempts to target the IGF1 axis in oncology, the role of IGF-binding proteins, structural aspects of IGF-II, etc. We trust that this assembly of articles will be of great help to students, basic researchers and practitioners.

An invaluable book containing a series of interdisciplinary discussions between clinical and basic scientists. Biology of IGF-1: Its interaction with insulin and health and malignant states focuses on key issues such as: the definition of danger zones the development of methods for early recognition of malignant states linked to IGF-1 and/or insulin possible approaches to preventative intervention the relevance in this field of research to the development of novel therapeutic approaches to treating certain cancers.

An essential element in the development and functional integrity of all organisms is intercellular communication. This is achieved by the secretion of soluble messenger molecules which subsequently interact with receptor-effector pathways in the responsive cells. Hormones are traditionally defined as chemical messengers synthesized by endocrine glands. Unlike hormones produced by endocrine glands, growth factors are hormone-related substances produced by many tissues and play an important role in controlling growth and development. While the exact physiological roles of growth factors have yet to be elucidated, they play important roles in the regulation of cellular proliferation and/or differentiation during ontogenesis, growth and differentiation. During recent years there has been a substantial increase in research related to peptide growth factors, their receptors, and modes of action. With the discovery and characterization of numerous growth factors, it became clear that these growth factors had multiple features in common with classic hormones as well as with oncogenes. Furthermore, there are distinct families of growth factors based either on structural or functional similarities.