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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Characterize Disease-related Mutants of RAF Family Kinases by Using a Set of Practical and Feasible Methods
07:49

Characterize Disease-related Mutants of RAF Family Kinases by Using a Set of Practical and Feasible Methods

Published on: July 17, 2019

Inhibition of Cell Growth by Antisense Oligonucleotides Targeting the Growth-Related Protein Kinase c-raf

D Fabbro1, B P Monia, K H Altmann

  • 1Oncology Research, Novartis Pharma, Basel, Switzerland.

Methods in Molecular Medicine
|March 11, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Cancer cell growth is a disorder of signal transduction, involving key proteins regulating cell division and death. New strategies target these pathways for less toxic cancer therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Mammalian cell transformation research reveals cancer involves disrupted growth regulation.
  • Cancer genes encode proteins critical for cell division (mitogenesis) and programmed cell death (apoptosis).
  • Carcinogenesis is increasingly understood as a progressive disorder of cellular signal transduction pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present the unifying concept of growth regulation and its disorders in cancer cells.
  • To highlight the role of cancer gene products in regulating normal cell proliferation and apoptosis.
  • To establish a framework for developing novel anticancer strategies targeting signal transduction.

Main Methods:

  • Review of molecular basis of mammalian cell transformation.
  • Analysis of the role of oncogenes and tumor suppressors in signal transduction.
  • Conceptualization of cancer as a signal transduction disorder.

Main Results:

  • Cancer gene products are key regulators of intra- and intercellular signal transduction.
  • Mutated or lost genes in cancer cells impact critical signaling pathways.
  • Disordered signal transduction is central to cancer development and progression.

Conclusions:

  • Cancer can be viewed as a progressive disorder of signal transduction.
  • Novel therapeutic strategies aim to inhibit cancer growth by blocking mitogenic signals or inducing apoptosis.
  • Targeting signal transduction pathways offers potential for anticancer agents with fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy.

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