Pathway of the Month
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway and Lung Cancer
Signaling pathways responsible for embryogenesis play a critical role in the maintenance of stem cells in adult life and cellular responses to injury. Dysfunction of the developmental signaling pathways during adult homeostasis leads to various events resulting in the development of neoplasia. We review the biology of the hedgehog signaling pathway and its potential role in the development of lung cancer.Insulin-Like Growth Factor and Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Despite the availability of several cytotoxic and a few molecularly targeted agents, the outlook for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer continues to be dismal. Novel approaches are desperately needed. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway plays an important role in a number of human malignancies contributing to unregulated cell proliferation. The IGF pathway has several targets for therapeutic intervention.
