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Apoptosis in cancer: cause and cure
Author(s) -
Kaufmann Scott H.,
Gores Gregory J.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/1521-1878(200011)22:11<1007::aid-bies7>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - carcinogenesis , apoptosis , cancer , cancer research , biology , programmed cell death , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , genetics
The accumulation of neoplastic cells can occur through enhanced proliferation, diminished cell turnover, or a combination of both processes. Although the potential contribution of diminished cell turnover to tumor development has been appreciated for a decade, more recent studies in animal models and clinical cancer specimens have elucidated the mechanisms by which alterations in the apoptotic machinery contribute to the process of carcinogenesis. At the same time, a different group of studies have demonstrated the feasibility of eliminating neoplastic cells by selectively inducing apoptosis. In this essay, we review recent developments in the fields of carcinogenesis and molecular therapeutics in light of new understanding of apoptotic pathways. BioEssays 22:1007–1017, 2000. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.