Targeting Pancreatic Cancer Metastasis by Inhibition of Vav1, a Driver of Tumor Cell Invasion.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal forms of human cancer, is largely resistant to many conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Although many therapeutic approaches focus on tumor growth, metastasis is a primary factor contributing to lethality. Therefore, novel therapies to target metastatic invasion could prevent tumor spread and recurrence resulting from local and distant metastasis. The protein Vav1 is aberrantly expressed in more than half of pancreatic cancers. Its expression promotes activation of Rac and Cdc42 and leads to enhanced invasion and migration, as well as increased tumor cell survival and proliferation, suggesting that Vav1 could be a potent therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer. The purine analogue azathioprine, well known for its function as an anti-inflammatory

SUBMITTER: Razidlo GL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4506209 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature