© 2003 Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology

The current knowledge of the canonical Wingless-type MMTV integration site family (Wnt) signaling pathway emerges from studies of the Wingless (Wg) pathway in Drosophila melanogaster and the Wnt pathway in Xenopus laevis, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as well as in mammalians. The Wnt signaling pathway is evolutionary conserved and controls many events during the embryogenesis. At the cellular level this pathway regulates morphology, proliferation, motility and cell fate. Also during tumorigenesis the Wnt signaling pathway has a central role and inappropriate activation of this pathway are observed in several human cancers (Spink et al., 2000). In the first part of this review, central Wnt pathway proteins and their binding partners will be described, whereas the second part will focus on genetic and epigenetic alterations of WNT components in human solid tumors. List of abbreviations