title: The Wnt signaling pathway in cancer.
abstract: The Wnt signaling pathway is critically involved in both the development and homeostasis of tissues via regulation of their endogenous stem cells. Aberrant Wnt signaling has been described as a key player in the initiation of and/or maintenance and development of many cancers, via affecting the behavior of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs). CSCs are considered by most to be responsible for establishment of the tumor and also for disease relapse, as they possess inherent drug-resistance properties. The development of new therapeutic compounds targeting the Wnt signaling pathway promises new hope to eliminate CSCs and achieve cancer eradication. However, a major challenge resides in developing a strategy efficient enough to target the dysregulated Wnt pathway in CSCs, while being safe enough to not damage the normal somatic stem cell population required for tissue homeostasis and repair. Here we review recent therapeutic approaches to target the Wnt pathway and their clinical applications.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Department of Pediatrics and Pathology, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States.
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Duchartre
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Department of Pediatrics and Pathology, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States. Electronic address: ymkim@chla.usc.edu.
authors.forename: Yong-Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States; Norris Comprehensive Cancer Research Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kahn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Cancer Stem Cells; Microenvironment; Wnt-signaling