title: Periostin: a novel prognostic and therapeutic target for genitourinary cancer?
abstract: Many of the cellular abnormalities present in solid tumors are structural in nature and involve the proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Periostin is a protein produced and secreted by the fibroblasts as a component of the ECM where it is involved in regulating intercellular adhesion. The expression of periostin has an important physiological role during embryogenesis and growth, namely at the level of bone, dental, and cardiac tissues. Many studies indicate that periostin plays an important role for tumor progression in various types of cancer, such as colon, lung, head and neck, breast, ovarian, and prostate. To the best of our knowledge, a limited number of studies have investigated periostin expression in urogenital cancer, such as prostate, bladder, penile, and renal cancer, and no studies were performed in testis cancer. In this review article, we summarize the most recent knowledge of periostin, its genetic and protein structure, and the role of the different isoforms identified and sequenced so far. In particular, we focus our attention on the role of this protein in genitourinary tumors, trying to emphasize the role not only as a possible prognostic marker, but also as a possible target for the development of future anticancer therapies.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Medical Oncology (Medical Oncology B), University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Pier Vitale
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Nuzzo
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Medical Oncology (Medical Oncology B), University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buzzatti
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Medical Oncology (Medical Oncology B), University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; IRCCS San Martino University Hospital - IST National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Medical Oncology (Medical Oncology B), University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; IRCCS San Martino University Hospital - IST National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rubagotti
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Medical Oncology (Medical Oncology B), University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; IRCCS San Martino University Hospital - IST National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Argellati
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Medical Oncology (Medical Oncology B), University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; IRCCS San Martino University Hospital - IST National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zinoli
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Medical Oncology (Medical Oncology B), University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, School of Medicine, Genoa, Italy; IRCCS San Martino University Hospital - IST National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy. Electronic address: f.boccardo@unige.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boccardo
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D014565:Urogenital Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; C512835:POSTN protein, human; D020033:Protein Isoforms
keywords: Biomarker; Extracellular matrix protein; Genitourinary tumors; Isoform; POSTN protein