Role of Growth Factor Signaling in Cancer

Growth factors may be defined as any group of protein that stimulate the growth of specific tissues and play an important role in promoting cellular differentiation and cellular division. Growth factors impart one of the important hallmark of cancer i.e sustaining proliferative signaling. They may act through paracrine, autocrine and endocrine signaling to effect growth and proliferation of cancer cells. They may act through various signaling cascades like MAPK, PI3K/AKT, JAK/STAT etc to activate their downstream mediates affecting various pathlogical and physiological functions. Abrupt signaling patterns of growth factors can induce oncogenic transformations. An enhanced understanding of these pathways can help targeting neoplastic transformation at an early stage. This review summarizes various mechanisms for targeted therapeutics against growth factor in cancer and their future prospective.