State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Department of Endodontics, West China Stomatology Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2021 Aug 30;6(1):307. doi: 10.1038/s41392-021-00701-5.
Wnt/β-catenin signaling has been broadly implicated in human cancers and experimental cancer models of animals. Aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling is tightly linked with the increment of prevalence, advancement of malignant progression, development of poor prognostics, and even ascendence of the cancer-associated mortality. Early experimental investigations have proposed the theoretical potential that efficient repression of this signaling might provide promising therapeutic choices in managing various types of cancers. Up to date, many therapies targeting Wnt/β-catenin signaling in cancers have been developed, which is assumed to endow clinicians with new opportunities of developing more satisfactory and precise remedies for cancer patients with aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signaling. However, current facts indicate that the clinical translations of Wnt/β-catenin signaling-dependent targeted therapies have faced un-neglectable crises and challenges. Therefore, in this study, we systematically reviewed the most updated knowledge of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in cancers and relatively targeted therapies to generate a clearer and more accurate awareness of both the developmental stage and underlying limitations of Wnt/β-catenin-targeted therapies in cancers. Insights of this study will help readers better understand the roles of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in cancers and provide insights to acknowledge the current opportunities and challenges of targeting this signaling in cancers.
Wnt/β-catenin 信号通路广泛参与人类癌症和动物实验性癌症模型。Wnt/β-catenin 信号通路的异常激活与患病率的增加、恶性进展的推进、预后不良的发展，甚至癌症相关死亡率的上升密切相关。早期的实验研究提出了一个理论上的可能性，即有效抑制这种信号通路可能为治疗各种类型的癌症提供有前途的治疗选择。迄今为止，已经开发出许多针对癌症中 Wnt/β-catenin 信号通路的治疗方法，这为临床医生提供了新的机会，为具有异常 Wnt/β-catenin 信号通路的癌症患者开发更令人满意和更精确的治疗方法。然而，目前的事实表明，Wnt/β-catenin 信号依赖性靶向治疗的临床转化面临着不可忽视的危机和挑战。因此，在本研究中，我们系统地回顾了癌症中 Wnt/β-catenin 信号及其相对靶向治疗的最新知识，以更清楚、更准确地认识癌症中 Wnt/β-catenin 靶向治疗的发展阶段和潜在局限性。本研究的见解将帮助读者更好地理解 Wnt/β-catenin 信号在癌症中的作用，并为了解靶向该信号在癌症中的当前机会和挑战提供见解。
