Colorectal cancer and NF-κB signaling pathway

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death. Progress has been made in the development of chemotherapy for advanced CRC. Targeted therapies against VEGF or EGFR are now commonly used. However, many cases show that tolerance develops to such treatments; therefore, new strategies are required to replace or complement current therapies. Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) transcription factors play a key role in many physiological processes such as innate and adaptive immune responses, cell proliferation, cell death, and inflammation. It has become clear that aberrant regulation of NF-κB and the signaling pathways that control its activity are involved in cancer development and progression, as well as in resistance to chemo- and radio- therapies. Hence, anti-NF-κB therapy may rescue many cases of CRC and should be considered as a therapeutic target. © 2011 RIGLD, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases.