Internal medicine

Bioinformatics

Biology

Cancer

Epistemology

Philosophy

Apoptosis

Intrinsic apoptosis

Mdm2

Programmed cell death

Mechanism (biology)

Cell biology

Cancer research

Genetics

Medicine

Cancer cell

Caspase

Current Oncology Reports

Purpose of Review Apoptosis is a major mechanism of cancer cell death. Thus, evasion of apoptosis results in therapy resistance. Here, we review apoptosis modulators in cancer and their recent developments, including MDM2 inhibitors and kinase inhibitors that can induce effective apoptosis. Recent Findings Both extrinsic pathways (external stimuli through cell surface death receptor) and intrinsic pathways (mitochondrial-mediated regulation upon genotoxic stress) regulate the complex process of apoptosis through orchestration of various proteins such as members of the BCL-2 family. Dysregulation within these complex steps can result in evasion of apoptosis. However, via the combined evolution of medicinal chemistry and molecular biology, omics assays have led to innovative inducers of apoptosis and inhibitors of anti-apoptotic regulators. Many of these agents are now being tested in cancer patients in early-phase trials. Summary We believe that despite a sluggish speed of development, apoptosis targeting holds promise as a relevant strategy in cancer therapeutics.

Targeting Apoptosis in Cancer