Author(s): Gregório, Ana C. ; Lacerda, Manuela ; Figueiredo, Paulo ; Simões, Sérgio ; Dias, Sérgio ; Moreira, João Nuno
Date: 2018
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10451/46449
Origin: Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa
Project/scholarship: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT//SFRH%2FBD%2F51190%2F2010/PT; info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/COMPETE/PTDC%2FSAU-BMA%2F121028%2F2010/PT;
Subject(s): Breast cancer; Molecular target; Nucleolin; Oncology; Targeted therapy
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A major challenge in the management of breast cancer disease has been the development of metastases. Finding new molecular targets and the design of targeted therapeutic approaches to improve the overall survival and quality of life of these patients is, therefore, of great importance. Nucleolin, which is overexpressed in cancer cells and tumor-associated blood vessels, have been implicated in various processes supporting tumorigenesis and angiogenesis. Additionally, its overexpression has been demonstrated in a variety of human neoplasias as an unfavorable prognostic factor, associated with a high risk of relapse and low overall survival. Hence, nucleolin has emerged as a relevant target for therapeutic intervention in cancer malignancy, including breast cancer. This review focus on the contribution of nucleolin for cancer disease and on the development of therapeutic strategies targeting this protein. In this respect, it also provides a critical analysis about the potential and pitfalls of nanomedicine for cancer therapy.
Ana Cristina Leal Gregório is student of the international PhD program in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB) from the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra and recipient of the fellowship SFRH/BD/51190/2010 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The work was supported by the grants PTDC/SAU-BMA/121028/2010, QREN/FEDER MultiNanoMed (Ref: 23240), by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation and Portuguese national funds via FCT, under the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440
