Abstract
Pancreas cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death due to the limited treatment success rate. The wide number of signalling pathway aberrations contributing to tumorigenesis, progression and drug resistance, is the main reason for unsuccessful treatments in pancreatic cancer. An additional and still under-investigated intracellular cancer target is the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ). Several studies have shown the in vitro antitumor activity of PPAR-γ agonists in cancer cells but, if used in monotherapy, they were poorly effective in cancer treatment. The present review will focus on the potential therapeutic role of PPAR-γ agonists in combination with other drugs (type I interferons, gemcitabine and COX-2 inhibitors), highlighting molecular interactions and signalling pathways involved in pancreatic cancer cells. Understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms and survival pathways activated in cancer cells should promote the development of more successful strategies based on the specific targeting of molecular pathways involved in the resistance to anti-cancer agents.
Keywords: Cancer therapy, COX-2 inhibitors, gemcitabine, interferon-β, pancreatic cancer, PPAR-γ, thiazolodinediones.
Related Books
Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research - Anti-Cancer Agents
NEOPLASIA and FERTILITY
Breast Cancer: Current Trends in Molecular Research
The Evolution of Radionanotargeting towards Clinical Precision Oncology: A Festschrift in Honor of Kalevi Kairemo
Nanotherapeutics for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Topics in Anti-Cancer Research
Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research - Anti-Cancer Agents
Modern Cancer Therapies and Traditional Medicine: An Integrative Approach to Combat Cancers
Herbal Medicine: Back to the Future
Thrombosis in Cancer: A Medical Professional's Guide to Cancer Associated Thrombosis
27