The Emerging Regulation of VEGFR-2 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.
Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF) signals vascular development and angiogenesis mainly by binding to VEGF receptor family member 2 (VEGFR-2). Adaptor proteins mediate many VEGFR-2's functions in the development of blood vessels. Cancer cells secrete VEGF to activate VEGFR-2 pathway in their neighboring endothelial cells in the process of cancer-related angiogenesis. Interestingly, activation of VEGFR-2 signaling is found in breast cancer cells, but its role and regulation are not clear. We highlighted research advances of VEGFR-2, with a focus on VEGFR-2's regulation by mutant p53 in breast cancer. In addition, we reviewed recent Food and Drug Administration-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitor drugs that can inhibit the function of VEGFR-2. Ongoing preclinical and clinical studies might prove that pharmaceutically targeting VEGFR-2 could be an effective therapeutic strategy in treating triple-negative breast cancer.
Molecular Oncology Program, Division of Surgical Oncology, DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine , Miami, FL , USA.
Xiaoxia
X
Zhu
Department of Biological Science, Columbia University , New York, NY , USA.
Wen
W
Zhou
JAK2; STAT3; VEGF; VEGFR inhibitor; VEGFR-2; breast cancer; mutant p53