The role of integrins in primary and secondary brain tumors.

The tumor environment plays an integral part in the biology of cancer, participating in tumor initiation, progression, and response to therapy. Integrins, a family of cell surface receptors, bridge the extracellular matrix to the intracellular cytoskeleton. Since their first characterization 25 years ago, a vast amount of work has been performed to understand the essential role of integrins in cell development, tissue organization, tumor growth, vessel development and their signaling mechanisms. Their potential as therapeutic targets in various types of cancer is intensively studied. In this review, we discuss the expression patterns and functional role of integrin in primary brain tumors and brain metastases, provide an overview of clinical data on integrin inhibition and their potential application in imaging and therapy of these tumors.