title: A review of the profile of endothelin axis in cancer and its management.
abstract: The endothelins and their associated receptors are important controllers of vascular growth, inflammation and vascular tone. In cancer, they have roles in the control of numerous factors in cancer development and progression, including angiogenesis, stromal reaction, epithelial mesenchymal transitions, apoptosis, invasion, metastases and drug resistance. Also, we consider current information on the role of this signalling system in cancer and examine the state of the current cell, animal and clinical trials utilizing endothelin targeted drugs for cancer management. Although targeting the endothelin axis in cell lines and xenografts show some promise in retarding cellular growth, results from limited clinical trials in prostatic cancer are less encouraging and did not offer significant survival benefit. The ability to target both cancer cells and vasculature via endothelin is an important consideration that necessitates the further refining of therapeutic strategies as we continue to explore the possibilities of the endothelin axis in cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Molecular Pathology, School of Medicine and Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Soussan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Irani
authors.affiliation: Cancer Molecular Pathology, School of Medicine and Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salajegheh
authors.affiliation: Cancer Molecular Pathology, School of Medicine and Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Robert Anthony
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Cancer Molecular Pathology, School of Medicine and Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: a.lam@griffith.edu.au.
authors.forename: Alfred King-Yin
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D016232:Endothelins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016232:Endothelins
keywords: Cancer; Clinical trials; Endothelin; Treatment