HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Review

New aspects on the role of lipoxygenases in cancer progression

A. Catalano1,2 and A. Procopio1,2

1Department of Molecular Pathology and Innovative Therapies, Polytechnic University of Marche, and 2Centre of Cytology, Italian National Research Centers on Aging (INRCA), Ancona, Italy

Offprint requests to: A. Catalano, Dipartimento di Patologia Molecolare e Terapie Innovative, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Ranieri, 60131, Ancona, Italy. e-mail: catgfp@yahoo.it


Summary. The Lipoxygenases (LOXs) are a class of enzymes that convert arachidonic, linoleic, and other polyunsaturated fatty acid into biologically active metabolites involved in the inflammatory and immune responses. Recent evidences indicate that LOXs and the signaling pathways that are involved in their activation are also important for carcinogenesis and tumor progression. LOXs should therefore receive as much attention from cancer researchers as it has already from immunologists. In this article, we will review some evidence that the LOXs pathways affect several aspects of lung, pancreatic and prostate cancer progression. Moreover, we discuss how this new perspective on the roles of LOXs and their metabolites can have important implications to cancer therapy. Histol Histopathol 20, 969-975 (2005)

Key words: Lipoxygenase, Lung, Pancreas, Prostate, Tumor progression

DOI: 10.14670/HH-20.969