Signaling Pathways In Cancer Pathogenesis And Therapy

In recent years, increasing evidence has suggested that abnormal activation of signaling pathways is a critical event in cancer pathogenesis. In particular, activation of these pathways can lead to inappropriate cellular survival, proliferation, pluripotency, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. Thus, understanding the mechanisms by which signaling pathways become subverted in a cancer cell can provide insight into critical events in cancer pathogenesis. Furthermore, as our ability to target specific molecular interactions advances, we now have the ability to design small molecules, protein therapeutics, and other forms of targeted therapies. By focusing on the specific molecular abnormalities in a cancer cell, these agents hold the potential to be much more effective and much less toxic than current cytotoxic therapies.

Unravelling the intricate cell signalling networks and their significance in cancer poses major intellectual challenge. Keeping this in mind, the book aims at understanding the mechanism of action of different proteins and their complexes in the cancer signalling pathways. Hence, the proposed book that comprises 20 chapters provides a comprehensive introduction on cell signalling, its alterations in cancer, molecules that have been popular targets as well as the ones that are emerging as targets. In addition, it discusses different forms of therapy that are coming up for its treatment. Other than that, a major portion of the book is focused on studying different disciplines at the interface of biology and other areas of science that are being used to understand cancer biology in depth.

Caveolins are important structural proteins of Caveolae, small invaginations of the membrane. They have been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple cancers. In this volume, we will mainly focus on the importance of Caveolin-1 in breast, prostate, lung, skin, colon, pancreatic and brain cancers with also a mention of the novel role of Caveolin-3 in breast cancer.

Inappropriate activation of the Wnt signaling pathway is observed in many human cancers and is sufficient to drive tumor initiation and progression in numerous contexts. Multiple mechanisms, such as overexpression of Wnt ligands, inactivation of the APC and Axin tumor suppressors, and mutation of -catenin, are responsible for pathway activation in tumor cells. The development of potent Wnt pathway antagonists for therapeutic use has been a major effort for investigators in both academia and industry in recent years. This book will provide an overview of the Wnt pathway as a therapeutic target for cancer, and discuss the preclinical development of inhibitors specifically directed to upstream and downstream components of the pathway.

Advances in Nitric Oxide and Cancer is a volume that serves to give the latest research on nitric oxide (NO) and cancer. More specifically, the volume reviews significant advances in the application of NO-mediated drugs. The volume explores nitric oxide and its relationship to cancer spanning from its roles in the pathogenesis, prognosis, gene and protein modifications, regulation of resistance to cytotoxics, and therapeutic applications. With chapters written by leading experts, the volume addresses the burgeoning interest in a rapidly advancing field and provides a valuable resource to scientists who have initiated research as well as clinical investigations in their laboratories on the various roles of NO and cancer.

Squamous epithelia form the lining surface of tissues in contact with the environment: the skin, oral mucosa, esophagus and respiratory tract, the genital tract, and several other specialized tissues. These tissues are at highest risk for exposure to environmental carcinogens such as UV, tobacco smoke and infectious agents. Cancers that form in squamous epithelia are among the most common human solid tumors and have high morbidity and mortality. These cancers include squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, oral cancer, head and neck and esophageal cancer, certain lung cancers and cervical cancer. We propose to organize the book so that the early chapters will focus on individual pathways and more specific mechanisms in both normal function and cancer, while the later chapters will be more integrative and include overviews of biomarkers and therapeutic development. This should increase interest for clinically oriented researchers. All authors will be encouraged to provide a balanced review in addition to highlighting their own work.