Siesser Priscila F, Maness Patricia F
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7260, USA.
Cell Adh Migr. 2009 Jul-Sep;3(3):275-7. doi: 10.4161/cam.3.3.8689. Epub 2009 Jul 7.
Fast growing malignant cancers represent a major therapeutic challenge. Basic cancer research has concentrated efforts to determine the mechanisms underlying cancer initiation and progression and reveal candidate targets for future therapeutic treatment of cancer patients. With known roles in fundamental processes required for proper development and function of the nervous system, L1-CAMs have been recently identified as key players in cancer biology. In particular L1 has been implicated in cancer invasiveness and metastasis, and has been pursued as a powerful prognostic factor, indicating poor outcome for patients. Interestingly, L1 has been shown to be important for the survival of cancer stem cells, which are thought to be the source of cancer recurrence. The newly recognized roles for L1CAMs in cancer prompt a search for alternative therapeutic approaches. Despite the promising advances in cancer basic research, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms dictating L1-mediated signaling is needed for the development of effective therapeutic treatment for cancer patients.
快速生长的恶性肿瘤是一个重大的治疗挑战。基础癌症研究集中力量确定癌症发生和发展的潜在机制，并揭示未来癌症患者治疗的候选靶点。由于在神经系统正常发育和功能所需的基本过程中发挥已知作用，L1细胞粘附分子（L1-CAMs）最近被确定为癌症生物学中的关键因素。特别是L1与癌症侵袭和转移有关，并已被视为一个强大的预后因素，表明患者预后不良。有趣的是，L1已被证明对癌症干细胞的存活很重要，而癌症干细胞被认为是癌症复发的根源。L1细胞粘附分子在癌症中的新认识作用促使人们寻找替代治疗方法。尽管癌症基础研究取得了有前景的进展，但为了开发有效的癌症患者治疗方法，仍需要更好地理解决定L1介导信号传导的分子机制。
