Roles for growth factors in cancer progression

Abstract

Under physiological conditions, cells receive fate-determining signals from their tissue surroundings, primarily in the form of polypeptide growth factors. Integration of these extracellular signals underlies tissue homeostasis.

Although departure from homeostasis and tumor initiation are instigated by oncogenic mutations rather than by growth factors, the latter are the major regulators of all subsequent steps of tumor progression, namely clonal expansion, invasion across tissue barriers, angiogenesis, and colonization of distant niches.

Here, we discuss the relevant growth factor families, their roles in tumor biology, as well as the respective downstream signaling pathways. Importantly, cancer-associated activating mutations that impinge on these pathways often relieve, in part, the reliance of tumors on growth factors.

On the other hand, growth factors are frequently involved in evolvement of resistance to therapeutic regimens, which extends the roles for polypeptide factors to very late phases of tumor progression and offers opportunities for cancer therapy.

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See also:

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- Somatostatin in oncology, the overlooked evidences - In vitro, review and in vivo publications;

- Publication, 2018 Jul: Over-Expression of GH/GHR in Breast Cancer and Oncosuppressor Role of Somatostatin as a Physiological Inhibitor (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2018 Sep: The over-expression of GH/GHR in tumour tissues with respect to healthy ones confirms its oncogenic role and the consequent oncosuppressor role of its physiological inhibitor, somatostatin: a review of the literature (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2019 Aug: The Entrapment of Somatostatin in a Lipid Formulation: Retarded Release and Free Radical Reactivity (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2019 Sep: Effects of Somatostatin and Vitamin C on the Fatty Acid Profile of Breast Cancer Cell Membranes (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2019 Sep: Effects of somatostatin, curcumin, and quercetin on the fatty acid profile of breast cancer cell membranes (from Di Bella's Foundation);

- Publication, 2020 Sep: Two neuroendocrine G protein-coupled receptor molecules, somatostatin and melatonin: Physiology of signal transduction and therapeutic perspectives (from Di Bella's Foundation);

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