Exploiting apoptosis pathways for the treatment of pediatric cancers.
Resistance to apoptosis (programmed cell death) is a characteristic feature of human cancers including childhood malignancies. Further, evasion of apoptosis is a frequent cause of treatment resistance, since most anti-cancer therapies, for example chemo- or radiotherapy act primarily by inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. Over the last two decades, the dissection of apoptosis pathways in pediatric tumors has resulted in the identification of many key molecules that may serve as molecular targets for drug discovery. Accordingly, components of the apoptotic cascade are currently exploited for the development of rationally designed molecular targeted therapies. This approach is expected to open new and more effective approaches for the treatment of childhood cancers.
Fulda
Simone
S
University Children's Hospital, Ulm, Germany. simone.fulda@uniklinik-ulm.de
D017209:Apoptosis; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand / Q000627:therapeutic use
D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand