title: Estrogen as Jekyll and Hyde: regulation of cell death.
abstract: Sustained estrogenic exposure increases the risk and/or the progression of various cancers, including those of the breast, endometrium and ovary. Unexpectedly, physiological level of estrogen together with a novel IKKα inhibitor BAY11-7082 could effectively induce cell apoptosis in ER-positive breast cancer cells, suggesting combining estrogen with IKKα inhibition may be beneficial for breast cancer patients. This opinion article touches upon the dual role estrogen played in inducing cancer cell death and asks whether use of estrogen in combination with IKKα-targeted therapy would be possible reconsider the newly identified crosstalk between ER and NFκB pathway which can be utilized to switch the effects of estrogen on cell death.
authors.affiliation: Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute, University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Fl 33136, USA ; Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology Program, Division of Surgical Oncology, Dewitt Daughtry Family of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Fl 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu