Overview of Current Findings about the Role of Oestrogen Receptor α in Cancer Cell Signalling Pathways

Czech version

Authors: P. Voňka; R. Hrstka
Authors‘ workplace: Regionální centrum aplikované molekulární onkologie, Masarykův onkologický ústav, Brno
Published in: Klin Onkol 2019; 32(Supplementum 3): 34-38
Category: Review
doi: https://doi.org/10.14735/amko20193S

Overview

Background: Oestrogen receptor α is a key biomarker for breast cancer, and the presence or absence of oestrogen receptor α in breast cancer influences the treatment regimens and patients’ prognosis. Oestrogen receptors α are activated after ligand binding, then translocate into the nucleus and activate the transcription of specific genes. This process is called the genomic effect of oestrogen receptor α. Oestrogen receptor α also has nongenomic effects that are exerted mainly in cytoplasm. Due to the important involvement of oestrogen receptor α in cell signalling, these receptors represent a key target for anticancer therapy.

Purpose: Although oestrogen receptor α was discovered 60 years ago, the corresponding signalling pathways have not yet been fully described due to their complexity. With respect to the considerable extent of oestrogen receptor α signalling, covering all related information is beyond the scope of this review, which is focused mainly on recently discovered aspects of oestrogen receptor α function.

Keywords:

signal transduction – oestrogen receptors

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