title: The role of the ubiquitination-proteasome pathway in breast cancer: applying drugs that affect the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway to the therapy of breast cancer.
abstract: The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is responsible for most eukaryotic intracellular protein degradation. This pathway has been validated as a target for antineoplastic therapy using both in vitro and preclinical models of human malignancies, and is influenced as part of the mechanism of action of certain chemotherapeutic agents. Drugs whose primary action involves modulation of ubiquitin-proteasome activity, most notably the proteasome inhibitor PS-341, are currently being evaluated in clinical trials, and have already been found to have significant antitumor efficacy. On the basis of the known mechanisms by which these agents work, and the available clinical data, they would seem to be well suited for the treatment of breast neoplasms. Such drugs, alone and especially in combination with current chemotherapeutics, may well represent important advances in the therapy of patients with breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA. R_Orlowski@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: Robert Z
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Orlowski
authors.forename: E Claire
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Dees
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001897:Boronic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000069286:Bortezomib; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; D011719:Pyrazines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014452:Ubiquitins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001897:Boronic Acids; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D011719:Pyrazines; D014452:Ubiquitins; D000069286:Bortezomib; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex