Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P04626 (erbB-2)
 5,251 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The long-term effort in investigating chemical methods to eliminate only cancer cells has improved our knowledge and has led to the development of new drugs. The targets for cancer treatment may be large polymeric molecules such as DNA or microtubules as well as regulatory pathways for tumor development and cell survival preservation or tyrosine kinase activity. Examples of new agents are: trastuzumab (Herceptin), a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the HER-2/neu proto-oncogene in combination with cytotoxic agents, is used in a percentage of breast cancer patients; signal transduction inhibitor of abl tyrosine kinase STI 571 (Glivec) has been shown to be an active treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia and GISTs; epidermal growth factor receptors in certain tumors have been targeted with agents such as C225 (Cetuximab) and ZD 1839 (IRESSA); an adenosine deaminase analogue of deoxyadenosine, Cladribine (2-chloro-2 deoxy-adenosine) has shown high effectiveness in hairy-cell leukemia and the multitargeted antifolate (Premetrexed) and several vaccines have been studied and are in clinical trials for resistant cancers. These new drug developments represent a promising field for future cancer management.
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PMID:Molecular characterization as a target for cancer therapy in relation to orphan status disorders (Review). 1237 30

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) have been recognised as a biologically distinctive tumor type, different from smooth muscle and neural tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. They constitute the majority of gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumors. They are defined and diagnosed by the expression of a protooncogene protein called CD117 detected by immunohistochemistry. It is now believed that GISTs originate from gastrointestinal pacemaker cells known as interstitial cells of Cajal, that control gut motility or from a precursor of these cells. The identification of mutations mostly in exon 11 and to a lesser extent in exons 9 and 13 of the c-kit protooncogene coding for c-kit (CD117) in many GISTs, has resulted in a better understanding of their oncogenic mechanisms. The finding of remarkable antitumor effects of the molecular inhibitor, imatinib (Glivec trade mark ) in metastatic and inoperable GISTs, has necessitated accurate diagnosis of GISTs and their distinction from other gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumors. To achieve this, pathologists need to be familiar with the spectrum of histological appearances shown by GISTs and have a high index of suspicion for these tumors. This review summarises recent advances in knowledge regarding the histogenesis, pathology, molecular biology, genetics and differential diagnosis of GISTs and the basis for the novel targeted cancer therapy with imatinib.
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PMID:Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST): C-kit mutations, CD117 expression, differential diagnosis and targeted cancer therapy with Imatinib. 1270 41

The regulatory agency approvals in the United States and Europe of imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) for patients with bcr/abl-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia, cetuximab (Erbitux) for patients with epidermal growth factor receptor overexpressing metastatic colorectal cancer, the antiangiogenesis agent bevacizumab (Avastin), and the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (Velcade)--and the considerable public interest in new anticancer drugs that take advantage of specific genetic defects that render the malignant cells more likely to respond to specific treatment--are driving a new era of integrated diagnostics and therapeutics. The recent discovery of a drug response predicting activating mutation in the epidermal growth factor receptor gene for patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with gefitinib (Iressa) has intensified this interest. In this review, the history of targeted anticancer therapies is highlighted, with focus on the development of molecular diagnostics for hematologic malignancies and the emergence of trastuzumab (Herceptin), an antibody-based targeted therapy for HER-2/neu overexpressing metastatic breast cancer: The potential of pharmacogenomic strategies and the use of high-density genomic microarrays to classify and select therapy for cancer are briefly considered. This review also considers the widely held view that, in the next 5 to 10 years, the clinical application of molecular diagnostics will further revolutionize the drug discovery and development process; customize the selection, dosing, route of administration of existing and new therapeutic agents; and truly personalize medical care for cancer patients.
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PMID:Targeted therapies for cancer 2004. 1548 59

Imatinib mesylate is a novel anti-tumor agent useful in the clinical management of chronic myelogenous leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors with minimal toxicity relative to other forms of cancer therapy. Its clinical activity and minimal toxicity are related to specific inhibition of cellular targets including BCR-ABL, platelet-derived growth factor receptor and c-kit kinases, resulting in the collapse of downstream signaling cascades important for transformation. In some patients, unexpected toxicities arise that are not associated with inhibition of any known cellular imatinib target. In this report, we investigated the effects of imatinib on squamous carcinoma cell signaling. Imatinib induced expression of COX-2 in a dose-dependent manner with concomitant accumulation of prostaglandin E2. COX-2 induction by imatinib was initiated through epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor kinase activation and downstream signaling through mitogenic-activated protein kinase. COX-2 induction by imatinib was blocked by MEK1 or EGF receptor inhibition. Imatinib did not activate stressor cytokine-signaling pathways (p38 kinase, nuclear factor-kB nuclear translocation) or affect COX-1 expression. Imatinib failed to activate EGF receptor signals in other tumor types, suggesting that COX-2 induction in imatinib-treated cells is mediated through release of autocrine factors expressed or activated in squamous tumors. COX-2 induction by imatinib in squamous tumors derived from the head and neck region is unique with respect to other target-specific agents and may represent one of the unintended toxic effects of imatinib described in some patients.
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PMID:Cyclooxygenase-2 induction and prostaglandin E2 accumulation in squamous cell carcinoma as a consequence of epidermal growth factor receptor activation by imatinib mesylate. 1584 61

Current treatments for cancer (surgery, radiation and chemotherapy) are successful for early stage localised disease but have severe side effects. New treatments are needed to increase the cure rate and life expectancy of patients. With the discovery of oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes and an understanding of their role in the development of the malignant disease, a new era of therapy has begun. Cancer is a manifestation of deregulated signalling pathways that mediate cell growth and programmed cell death. Protein kinases are essential elements in these signalling pathways. In the US, Novartis launched Gleevec (imantinib, STI-571) in May 2001 as the first anticancer drug whose mechanism of action is kinase inhibition. In Phase I trials, 23/24 patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) had complete remissions and the drug is relatively non-toxic. Herceptin (trastuzumab) is a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against a member of the growth factor receptor family (HER-2/neu) that was launched in 1998 by Genentech for the treatment of breast cancer. Trastuzumab has an excellent antitumour profile, particularly when used in combination with doxorubicin and paclitaxol. These drugs are pioneering the treatment of cancer based on the molecular understanding of the disease. Numerous drugs that target growth factor receptors and their signalling pathways are in advanced clinical trials. Herein, antibodies against receptors and small molecule inhibitors of kinases in signalling pathways will be summarised. Inter-disciplinary preclinical studies have identified chemicals that target specific kinases. We believe that clinical studies of these agents will yield new anticancer agents that target specific diseases and that are less toxic than current agents.
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PMID:Drugs targeted against protein kinases. 1598 28

Hereditary cancer syndromes provide excellent models for molecular genetic studies that may aid significantly in case detection, surveillance, and management. Ultimately, molecularly based designer pharmaceuticals may emerge from this research, such as the case of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in HER-2/neu positive breast cancer, and imatinib (Gleevec) in chronic myelocytic leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Importantly, these molecular findings may fuel significant clues to cancer control. This background is mentioned since surveillance and management of pancreatic cancer, a major concern of this manuscript, has been uniformly unsuccessful as evidenced by the close correspondence between its incidence and its mortality. Yet knowledge about its genetic and molecular pathology will hopefully ameliorate this vexing problem. One molecular genetic clue is the recently identified palladin mutation in two pancreatic cancer prone families. However, caution must be used toward the palladin mutation, as several recent publications have questioned its significance as a pancreatic cancer causing mutation. We provide a concise description of pancreatic cancer in concert with malignant melanoma in the familial atypical multiple mole melanoma (FAMMM) syndrome as a potential preventive model. This knowledge should help clinicians and basic scientists seize on the opportunity to develop more sensitive and specific screening and management programs in this disease; while a relatively small subset of pancreatic cancer may be readily identifiable through its FAMMM phenotype, coupled with its CDKN2A mutation, this hereditary disorder, given a keen knowledge of its natural history and molecular genetics, may prove to be an effective clinical preventive model.
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PMID:Pancreatic cancer and the FAMMM syndrome. 1799 82