Activation of cell proliferation signals in the development of cancer

• Cell growth and proliferation can be activated by extracellular growth factors. Many of these growth factors bind to cell surface tyrosine kinase receptors (TKRs)^1,12
  • Activation of intracellular signal transduction pathways ultimately results in altered gene expression and increased cellular growth/proliferation (Figure 4)^1,12
  • In many tumor types, dysregulation of TKRs and/or their downstream signal transduction pathways has been shown to play a role in oncogenesis¹
• Blocking cellular proliferation signals by targeting TKRs or their intracellular signal transduction pathways has been an important strategy in the current treatment of several tumor types. This approach remains under exploration in the development of newer anticancer therapies¹²

Figure 4. Targeting dysregulated tyrosine kinase signaling to block cellular proliferation signals as a strategy for anticancer therapy development.¹²

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