The Potential of Wnt Signaling Pathway in Cancer: A Focus on Breast Cancer

• Main Authors: Mahnaz M Kazi, Trupti I Trivedi, Toral P Kobawala, Nandita R Ghosh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2016-01-01
• Series: Cancer Translational Medicine
• Subjects: Cancer stem cells; triple negative breast cancer; β-catenin
• Online Access: http://www.cancertm.com/article.asp?issn=2395-3977;year=2016;volume=2;issue=2;spage=55;epage=60;aulast=Kazi

Cancer development and progression as well as tumor recurrence are largely due to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) that are maintained through various pathways. Wnt/β-catenin signaling is the fundamental pathway, which when deregulated leads to tumor development by sustaining CSC population. Along with the upregulation of its various components, Wnt pathway is highly active in cancer cells resulting in increased expression of the target genes. In breast cancer condition, convincing results are available wherein the Wnt pathway activation in breast cancer cells increases the cell motility while its blockade suppresses their aggressive behavior in vitro. Further, numerous reports on breast cancer patients have documented the importance of activation of Wnt pathway and its components to an extent that the regulation can be exploited therapeutically with promising results. In addition, recent research has laid emphasis on the significance of Wnt pathway in the triple-negative breast cancer, a molecular subtype of breast cancer, which lacks targeted therapy till date. Hence, understanding of Wnt signaling and its targeting to treat such patients can be an assuring approach.