title: Vasoactive intestinal peptide/pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide, and their receptors and cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To summarize the roles of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)/pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) and their receptors (VPAC1, VPAC2, PAC1) in human tumors as well as their role in potential novel treatments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Considerable progress has been made in understanding of the effects of VIP/PACAP on growth of various tumors as well as in the signaling cascades involved, especially in the role of transactivation of the epidermal growth factor family. The overexpression of VPAC1/2 and PAC1 on a number of common neoplasms (breast, lung, prostate, central nervous system and neuroblastoma) is receiving increased attention both as a means of tumor imaging the location and extent of these tumors, as well as for targeted directed treatment, by coupling cytotoxic agents to VIP/PACAP analogues.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VIP/PACAP has prominent growth effects on a number of common neoplasms, which frequently overexpressed the three subtypes of their receptors. The increased understanding of their signaling cascades, effect on tumor growth/differentiation and the use of the overexpression of these receptors for localization/targeted cytotoxic delivery are all suggesting possible novel tumor treatments.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Health and Human Services, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Office of the Director bNational Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Disease, Digestive Diseases Branch, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Terry W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Moody
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nuche-Berenguer
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide / Q000378:metabolism*; D051237:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide, Type I / Q000378:metabolism*; D051239:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide, Type II / Q000378:metabolism*; D051238:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide, Type I / Q000378:metabolism*; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051219:Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide; D051237:Receptors, Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide, Type I; D051239:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide, Type II; D051238:Receptors, Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide, Type I; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide