Laboratory of Anatomy, Department of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons (UMons), Pentagone 2A, 6 Ave du Champ de Mars, B-7000 Mons, Belgium.
Laboratory of Oncology and Experimental Surgery, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Dec 18;18(12):2745. doi: 10.3390/ijms18122745.
Head and neck cancers are among the most frequently occurring cancers worldwide. Of the molecular drivers described for these tumors, galectins play an important role via their interaction with several intracellular pathways. In this review, we will detail and discuss this role with specific reference to galectins-1, -3, and -7 in angiogenesis, cell proliferation, and invasion as well as in cell transformation and cancer progression. Furthermore, we will evaluate the prognostic value of galectin expression in head and neck cancers including those with oral cavity, salivary gland, and nasopharyngeal pathologies. In addition, we will discuss the involvement of these galectins in thyroid cancers where their altered expression is proposed as a new diagnostic biomarker.
头颈部癌症是全球最常见的癌症之一。在这些肿瘤的分子驱动因素中，半乳糖凝集素通过与多种细胞内途径相互作用发挥着重要作用。在这篇综述中，我们将详细讨论这种作用，并特别参考半乳糖凝集素-1、-3 和-7 在血管生成、细胞增殖和侵袭以及细胞转化和癌症进展中的作用。此外，我们将评估半乳糖凝集素在头颈部癌症中的表达的预后价值，包括口腔、唾液腺和鼻咽部的癌症。此外，我们还将讨论这些半乳糖凝集素在甲状腺癌中的作用，其异常表达被提出作为一种新的诊断生物标志物。
