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Nasopharyngeal carcinoma—Review of the molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis
Author(s) -
Chou Josephine,
Lin YuChing,
Kim Jae,
You Liang,
Xu Zhidong,
He Biao,
Jablons David M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.20833
Subject(s) - nasopharyngeal carcinoma , wnt signaling pathway , cyclin d1 , carcinogenesis , cancer research , downregulation and upregulation , biology , cell cycle , protein kinase b , pathogenesis , cancer , signal transduction , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , immunology , genetics , gene , radiation therapy
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a head and neck cancer rare throughout most of the world but common in certain geographic areas, such as southern Asia. While environmental factors and genetic susceptibility play important roles in NPC pathogenesis, the Epstein–Barr virus in particular has been implicated in the molecular abnormalities leading to NPC. There is upregulation of cellular proliferation pathways such as the Akt pathway, mitogen‐activated protein kinases, and the Wnt pathway. Cell adhesion is compromised due to abnormal E‐cadherin and β‐catenin function. Aberrations in cell cycle are due to dysregulation of factors such as p16, cyclin D1, and cyclin E. Anti‐apoptotic mechanisms are also upregulated. There are multiple abnormalities unique to NPC that are potential targets for novel treatments. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2008