HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Review

Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) system and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST): present and future

Margherita Nannini1, Guido Biasco1,2, Annalisa Astolfi2, Milena Urbini2 and Maria A. Pantaleo1,2

1Department of Specialized, Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine, Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy and 2“Giorgio Prodi” Cancer Research Center, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

Offprint requests to: Margherita Nannini, University of Bologna, Department of Hematology and Oncological Sciences "L.A.Seragnoli", S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Via Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy. e-mail: maggie.nannini@gmail.com


Summary. In the last decades, the concept that Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) axis plays a key role in several steps of tumorigenesis, cancer growth and metastasis has been widely documented. The aberration of the IGF system has been described in many kinds of tumours, providing several lines of evidence in support of IGF receptor type 1 (IGF1R) as molecular target in cancer treatment.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common mesenchymal tumor of the gastrointestinal tract, commonly characterized in most cases by KIT and PDGFRA gain mutations.
Beyond to the well recognized KIT and PDGFRA gain mutations, in the last years other molecular aberrations have been investigated.
Recently, several lines of evidence about the involvement of the IGF system in GIST have been accumulated.
The aim of this review is to report all current data about the IGF system involvement in GIST, focusing on the current clinical implication and future perspectives
. Histol Histopathol 29, 167-175 (2014)

Key words: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), Insulin growth factor receptor 1 (IGF1R), KIT/PDGFRA, Wild-type, Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH)

DOI: 10.14670/HH-29.167