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Query: EC:2.7.10.1 (
ERK
)
95,504
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Neuroendocrine (NE) tumors of the lung are a special class of tumors that include large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC), typical carcinoid (TC) tumor, atypical carcinoid (AC) tumor, and
small cell lung cancer
(
SCLC
). Even though they all have the same NE phenotype, these tumors can differ in their pathological characteristics, immunohistochemical patterns, molecular and cellular biology, clinical characteristics, response to various therapeutic modalities, and finally the ability to be molecularly targeted by novel therapeutics. In this review article, we will summarize the various characteristics of these specialized NE tumors, with particular emphasis on the biology with the potential for novel targeted therapies. As an example,
SCLC
is characterized by overexpression of receptor tyrosine kinases such as c-Kit, c-
MET
and Ret, and these can be targeted with small molecule inhibitors and various antibodies. Many of NE tumors are quite aggressive and arriving at targeted therapies would be a useful venue to pursue for a potential cure.
...
PMID:Biology and novel therapeutics for neuroendocrine tumors of the lung. 1578 94
The fact that
small cell lung cancer
(
SCLC
) is commonly incurable despite being initially responsive to chemotherapy, combined with disappointing results from a recent
SCLC
clinical trial with imatinib, has intensified efforts to identify mechanisms of
SCLC
resistance. Adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) is one mechanism that can increase therapeutic resistance in
SCLC
cells. To address whether adhesion to ECM increases resistance through modulation of signaling pathways, a series of
SCLC
cell lines were plated on various ECM components, and activation of two signaling pathways that promote cellular survival, the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway and the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK/
ERK
) pathway, was assessed. Although differential activation was observed, adhesion to laminin increased Akt activation, increased cellular survival after serum starvation, and caused the cells to assume a flattened, epithelial morphology. Inhibitors of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway (LY294002, rapamycin) but not the MEK/
ERK
pathway (U0126) abrogated laminin-mediated survival.
SCLC
cells plated on laminin were not only resistant to serum starvation-induced apoptosis but were also resistant to apoptosis caused by imatinib. Combining imatinib with LY294002 or rapamycin but not U0126 caused greater than additive increases in apoptosis compared with apoptosis caused by the inhibitor or imatinib alone. Similar results were observed when adenoviruses expressing mutant Akt were combined with imatinib, or when LY294002 was combined with cisplatin or etoposide. These studies identify laminin-mediated activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway as a mechanism of cellular survival and therapeutic resistance in
SCLC
cells and suggest that inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is one strategy to overcome
SCLC
resistance mediated by ECM.
...
PMID:Inhibition of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway but not the MEK/ERK pathway attenuates laminin-mediated small cell lung cancer cellular survival and resistance to imatinib mesylate or chemotherapy. 1616 21
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the world, with
small cell lung cancer
(
SCLC
) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprising the two major cell types. Although these cell types can be distinguished readily at the histological level, knowledge of their underlying molecular differences is very limited. In this study, we compared 14
SCLC
cell lines against 27 NSCLC cell lines using an integrated array comparative genomic hybridisation and gene expression profiling approach to identify subtype-specific disruptions. Using stringent criteria, we have identified 159 of the genes that are responsible for the different biology of these cell types. Sorting of these genes by their biological functions revealed the differential disruption of key components involved in cell cycle pathways. Our novel comparative combined genome and transcriptome analysis not only identified differentially altered genes, but also revealed that certain shared pathways are preferentially disrupted at different steps in these cell types.
Small cell lung cancer
exhibited increased expression of MRP5, activation of Wnt pathway inhibitors, and upregulation of p38 MAPK activating genes, while NSCLC showed downregulation of CDKN2A, and upregulation of MAPK9 and
EGFR
. This information suggests that cell cycle upregulation in
SCLC
and NSCLC occurs through drastically different mechanisms, highlighting the need for differential molecular target selection in the treatment of these cancers.
...
PMID:Differential disruption of cell cycle pathways in small cell and non-small cell lung cancer. 1670 11
Availability of
KIT
tyrosine kinase inhibitors for specific treatment of GISTs has magnified the importance of accurate differential diagnosis of GIST from other tumors occurring in the GI tract and abdomen. The general problems in this distinction include histological mimicry of other mesenchymal tumors with GIST, occasional
KIT
-negativity of GIST, and
KIT
-positivity of non-GISTs. Up to 5% to 10% gastric GISTs and <2% of intestinal GISTs can be
KIT
-negative. The identification of these tumors as GISTs is based on knowledge of the spectrum of GIST morphology, and can be supported by molecular diagnosis of
KIT
and
PDGFRA
mutations (the latter pertain to gastric tumors). True smooth muscle tumors (rare in GI tract except in esophagus and colon) can be separated from GISTs by the eosinophilic tinctorial quality of tumor cells, positivity for smooth muscle markers, and negativity for
KIT
. Desmoids can form large GIST-like masses, but are composed of spindled or stellate-shaped cells in a densely collagenous stroma. Negativity for
KIT
and nuclear positivity for beta-catenin are differentiating features. GI schwannomas, melanoma, and rare primary clear cell sarcoma are S100-positive, usually with characteristic histology. The latter two can be
KIT
-positive.
KIT
-positive non-GISTs include some sarcomas, especially angiosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma, extramedullary myeloid tumor, seminoma, and a few carcinomas, notably
small cell carcinoma of lung
. Spurious
KIT
-positivity, seen with some polyclonal
KIT
antibodies, has been a source of confusion leading to probable false-positive results in fibroblastic tumors and occasional other sarcomas, such as leiomyosarcomas. Integration of histological features with carefully standardized immunohistochemistry, supported by
KIT
and
PDGFRA
mutation analysis, is the cornerstone of state-of-the art differential diagnosis of GIST. To comprehensively capture all GISTs,
KIT
immunostains should be performed on all unclassified epithelioid and mesenchymal tumors of the abdomen. This is a US government work. There are no restrictions on its use.
...
PMID:Gastrointestinal stromal tumors: differential diagnosis. 1719 24
The patient was a 39-year-old woman admitted with complaints of fever, clubbed fingers and arthralgia. A chest roentgenogram and chest computed tomographic scan revealed a mass in the left lower lobe. Transbronchial lung biopsy was performed, and a diagnosis of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma was made. Physical examination confirmed finger clubbing in both hands. Bone scintigram showed marked accumulation of 99mTc-MDP in the long bones, bones of the elbows, and patellae. These findings yielded a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy associated with primary lung cancer in young adult. The patient had fever and disturbance of gait of arthralgia on admission, and was treated with an oral non-steroidal anti-inflammation drug (NSAID). Advanced non
small cell lung cancer
(clinical stage T2 N3 M1, Stage IV) was then diagnosed. Gefitinib was administered after
EGFR
mutation was found in the tumor specimen. NSAID therapy alleviated the fever and arthralgia. After starting gefitinib and discontinuing the NSAID, She had kept a remission of rational symptom with cytoreductive effect. The abnormal findings of bone scintigrams subsequently disappeared and the patient's serum ICTP dropped.
...
PMID:[A case of pulmonary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy associated with primary lung cancer in a young adult successfully treated with gefitinib]. 1735 79
Therapies targeted on cell signal pathways that control cell division and tumor angiogenesis have been developed over the last five years for non
small cell lung cancer
(NSCLC) with some amazing results, in subgroups of selected patients, predicting more significant success in the upcoming years. Compounds targeted on EGF tyrosine kinase receptor have been tested in large clinical phase 2 and 3 trials including thousands of patients. Their efficacy has been proved, in second and third line trials, after first line cisplatin-based chemotherapy for non-mucinous adenocarcinoma in non-smokers, women and Asian patients. Response rates vary from 10% in non selected Caucasian patients to 40% in non-smoking Asian patients with long survivals. Therapeutic targeting improves success rates, either relying on
EGFR
gene amplification detection by FISH, or search for
EGFR
tyrosine kinase domain mutations. Commercial kits are available for routine molecular diagnosis of domain mutations potentially enabling molecular targeting in addition to clinical targeting. Angiogenesis inhibitors, especially monoclonal antibody to VEGF, bevacizumab, have also been developed in the last few years. Bevacizumab associated with classical cytotoxic chemotherapy led, in selected patients (with non squamous cell lung cancer and no past history of cardiovascular disease) to an increase of median survival to more than 12 months with tolerable toxicity. Other drugs that have both anti-
EGFR
activity and anti-angiogenic properties will be soon developed, since future bioactive anti-cancer drugs will probably be multi-targeted drugs.
...
PMID:[New biological treatments for lung cancer]. 1745 80
The prognosis of lung cancer remains poor, and biological heterogeneity is largely responsible, especially in adenocarcinoma. We previously found that only one third of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but most
small cell lung cancer
(
SCLC
) tissues have strong telomerase activity, representing the difference in the history of multiple clonal selections. To reveal the genes differentially involved in telomerase activation mechanisms, we analyzed the relationship between common genetic aberrations and telomerase activity in 83 lung cancer tissues. We found that half (7 of 14) of lung adenocarcinomas with high telomerase activity showed neither TP53 nor RB1 deletion, while all squamous cell carcinomas and SCLCs with high telomerase activity showed loss of heterozygosity of at least one, if not both, of these suppressor oncogenes, indicating that these genetic aberrations are not required in activation of telomerase in a unique subset of adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, whereas the aberrations in TP53, RB1 and 1p34-pter were mutually related in 42 adenocarcinoma tissues,
EGFR
aberrations showed no relationship to either of them. These findings indicate that
EGFR
activating aberrations occur independently of other common genetic aberrations or telomerase activation mechanisms in lung adenocarcinoma, and that the distinct subset of lung adenocarcinoma with high telomerase activity without any common genetic aberrations may possibly have arisen from a telomerase-positive or telomerase-competent normal cell.
...
PMID:EGFR activating aberration occurs independently of other genetic aberrations or telomerase activation in adenocarcinoma of the lung. 1748 98
RASSF2, a member of the RAS association domain family 1 (RASSF1), is a candidate tumor suppressor gene (TSG) that is silenced by promoter hypermethylation in several human cancers. In this study, we examined the expression of RASSF2 mRNA and the promoter methylation status in lung cancer cell lines and in tumor samples of 106 primary non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) by methylation-specific PCR. RASSF2 expression was absent in 26% of small cell lung cancers (SCLCs; n=27 lines) and 50% of NSCLCs (n=42 lines). Promoter methylation of RASSF2 was found in 18% of the
SCLC
cell lines (n=22) and 62% of the NSCLC cell lines (n=26), and the methylation status was tightly associated with the loss of RASSF2 expression. RASSF2 expression was restored by treatment with 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine and/or trichostatin-A in the NSCLC cell lines which were absent of the expression. RASSF2 methylation was found in 31% of primary NSCLC tumors, and methylation was more frequent in the specimens from non-smokers (18 of 40, 45%) than in the specimens from smokers (15 of 66, 23%, P=0.014). We also examined the association of RASSF2 methylation with mutations of KRAS and
EGFR
and with promoter hypermethylation of RASSF1A; however, we could not find a significant association between RASSF2 methylation and these genetic and epigenetic changes. Our results indicate that aberrant methylation of the RASSF2 gene with the subsequent loss of RASSF2 expression plays an important role in the pathogenesis of lung cancers.
...
PMID:Epigenetic inactivation of the RAS-effector gene RASSF2 in lung cancers. 1754 18
We report a case of
small cell lung cancer
(
SCLC
) developing after prolonged treatment (more than 2 years) for primary adenocarcinoma of the lung, and we show that both the
SCLC
and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues obtained from the same site share the same deletion in exon 19 of
EGFR
. This case suggests that the activating
EGFR
mutations may confer the pathogenesis of a subset of
SCLC
.
...
PMID:Sequential occurrence of non-small cell and small cell lung cancer with the same EGFR mutation. 1760 31
The c-
MET
receptor can be overexpressed, amplified, or mutated in solid tumours including
small cell lung cancer
(
SCLC
). In c-
MET
-overexpressing
SCLC
cell line NCI-H69, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) dramatically induced c-
MET
phosphorylation at phosphoepitopes pY1230/1234/1235 (catalytic tyrosine kinase), pY1003 (juxtamembrane), and also of paxillin at pY31 (CRKL-binding site). We utilised a global proteomics phosphoantibody array approach to identify further c-
MET
/HGF signal transduction intermediates in
SCLC
. Strong HGF induction of specific phosphorylation sites in phosphoproteins involved in c-
MET
/HGF signal transduction was detected, namely adducin-alpha [S724], adducin-gamma [S662], CREB [S133], ERK1 [T185/Y187], ERK1/2 [T202/Y204], ERK2 [T185/Y187], MAPKK (MEK) 1/2 [S221/S225], MAPKK (MEK) 3/6 [S189/S207], RB [S612], RB1 [S780], JNK [T183/Y185], STAT3 [S727], focal adhesion kinase (FAK) [Y576/S722/S910], p38alpha-MAPK [T180/Y182], and AKT1[S473] and [T308]. Conversely, inhibition of phosphorylation by HGF in protein kinase C (PKC), protein kinase R (PKR), and also CDK1 was identified. Phosphoantibody-based immunohistochemical analysis of
SCLC
tumour tissue and microarray established the role of c-
MET
in
SCLC
biology. This supports a role of c-
MET
activation in tumour invasive front in the tumour progression and invasion involving FAK and AKT downstream. The c-
MET
serves as an attractive therapeutic target in
SCLC
, as shown through small interfering RNA (siRNA) and selective prototype c-
MET
inhibitor SU11274, inhibiting the phosphorylation of c-
MET
itself and its downstream molecules such as AKT, S6 kinase, and ERK1/2. Investigation of mechanisms of invasion and, ultimately, metastasis in
SCLC
would be very useful with these signal transduction molecules.
...
PMID:Downstream signalling and specific inhibition of c-MET/HGF pathway in small cell lung cancer: implications for tumour invasion. 1766 9
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