The plethora of information about the expression of cancer cell-associated gangliosides, their role(s) in signal transduction, and their potential usefulness in the development of cancer treatments makes this an appropriate time to review these enigmatic glycosphingolipids. Evidence, reflecting the work of many, indicates that (1) expression of specific gangliosides, not generally found in high concentrations in most normal human cells, can be linked to certain types of cancer. (2) Gangliosides can affect the ability of cells to interact either directly or indirectly with growth factor receptors, thereby changing such things as a cell’s mobility, rate of proliferation, and metastatic ability. (3) Anti-ganglioside antibodies have been tested, with some success, as potential treatments for certain cancers. (4) Cancer-associated gangliosides shed into the circulation can (a) affect immune cell responsiveness either positively or negatively, (b) be considered as diagnostic markers, and (c) be used to look for recurrence. (5) Cancer registries enable investigators to evaluate data from sufficient numbers of patients to obtain information about potential therapies. Despite advances that have been made, a discussion of possible approaches to identifying additional treatment strategies to inhibit metastasis, responsible for the majority of deaths of cancer patients, as well as for treating therapy-resistant tumors, is included.
关于癌细胞相关神经节苷脂表达的大量信息、其在信号转导中的作用以及在癌症治疗开发中的潜在应用价值，使得当前正是审视这类神秘鞘糖脂的恰当时机。众多研究证据表明：（1）特定神经节苷脂的表达与某些癌症类型相关，而这些物质在大多数正常人体细胞中通常不存在高浓度表达。（2）神经节苷脂能够直接影响或间接改变细胞与生长因子受体的相互作用能力，从而改变细胞的迁移性、增殖速率及转移能力。（3）抗神经节苷脂抗体已作为某些癌症的潜在疗法进行测试，并取得一定成效。（4）进入循环系统的癌症相关神经节苷脂能够：（a）正向或负向调节免疫细胞反应性；（b）作为诊断标志物；（c）用于监测复发。（5）癌症登记系统使研究者能够通过足够数量的患者数据评估潜在疗法。尽管已取得进展，本文还将探讨识别新治疗策略的可能途径，以抑制导致大多数癌症患者死亡的转移过程，并治疗耐药性肿瘤。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家