Abstract
The evolutionarily conserved and developmentally important Wnt signaling pathway has traditionally been regarded as a critical player in tumorigenesis through the canonical Wnt/β-catenin cascade. Nevertheless, accumulating evidence based on recent research has revealed the previously unacknowledged role of noncanonical Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling in cancer progression, invasion and metastasis, and angiogenesis. This review describes the PCP signaling pathway and its ever-expanding components and modulators, highlights the most recent studies that provide insight into the link between PCP signaling and cancer, and, finally, proposes a model by which PCP signaling may promote cancer development. This review underscores the emerging theme that deregulated PCP signaling contributes to tumorigenesis, providing new potential targets for cancer therapy. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(8):2103–9]
Footnotes
- Received March 26, 2009.
- Revision received May 15, 2009.
- Accepted June 8, 2009.
- © 2009 American Association for Cancer Research.
Volume 8, Issue 8
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- Article
- Abstract
- Introduction
- PCP Signaling Pathway
- PCP Signaling and Cancer
- Role of PCP Signaling in Tumor Metastasis
- Role of PCP Signaling in Angiogenesis
- Complex Role of PCP Signaling in Cancer Development
- Modulation of PCP Signaling for Cancer Therapy
- Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest
- Acknowledgments
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