Keloids: Fundamental principles and prospects (Review)

Wound healing is a very complex process of interactions between different cells, growth factors, blood elements and extracellular matrix. Keloids represent one of the possible complications in the fundamental process of cutaneous wound repair. Despite all efforts, keloids remain a therapeutic challenge since no treatment is as yet considered 100% effective. Growth factors, discovered in the late 1970s, have been shown to influence dermal regeneration. However, the exogenous application of growth factors to chronic wounds has not proven to be effective in healing them. Additionally, genetic analysis has not revealed any single gene that might cause keloids; as such, classic gene therapy is not a feasible option for the treatment of keloids. A new approach is so-called somatic gene therapy. This review provides an overview of the fundamentals of wound healing and of keloids, and presents new possibilities that may improve cutaneous wound repair.