title: Therapeutic Innovations for Targeting Hepatoblastoma.
abstract: Hepatoblastoma is the most common pediatric liver tumor. Despite recent advances in treatment with surgery and chemotherapy, the prognosis in advanced stages remains poor. The neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) has recently been described to be pivotal in the development of cancer. Furthermore, overwhelming evidence now exists showing that pharmacological manipulation of NK1R can cause a robust anticancer effect. Consequently, NK1R antagonists, such as the clinical drug aprepitant, are under current investigation as future innovative anticancer agents. In that sense, new evidence suggests that NK1R is highly expressed in human hepatoblastoma and can be targeted to create a robust inhibiton of tumor growth in vivo and in vitro. The mechanisms behind this effect are only now being investigated but already reveal an arsenal of therapeutic possibilities. Our article describes the most recent developments in the field of therapeutic NK1R inhibition in cancer and focuses particularly on the newly discovered molecular mechanisms involved when targeting NK1R in hepatoblastoma.
authors: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Research Laboratories, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors: Agnès
authors: A
authors: Garnier
authors: Department of General, Visceral, and Transplantation Surgery, Hospital of the LMU, Munich, Germany.
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Ilmer
authors: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Research Laboratories, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors: Roland
authors: R
authors: Kappler
authors: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Research Laboratories, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany michael.fabian.berger@gmail.com.|Department of Transplant Surgery, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Berger
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018197:Hepatoblastoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D064729:Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D064729:Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D051153:Wnt Proteins; C546842:MTOR protein, human
keywords: Hepatoblastoma; NK1R; childhood cancer; review