Abstract.
The insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are a ubiquitous family of growth factors, binding proteins and receptors that are involved in normal growth and development. They are also implicated in numerous pathological states, including malignancy. IGF-II is a commonly expressed growth factor in many tumors and may enhance tumor growth, acting via the overexpressed IGF-I receptor, a cell-surface tyrosine kinase receptor. The IGF-I receptor may be overexpressed due to mutations in tumor suppression gene products such as p53 and WT-1 or growth factors such as bFGF and PDGF. Thus, this family of growth factors, especially the IGF-I receptor, may present an excellent target for new therapeutic agents in the treatment of cancer and other disorders of excessive cellular proliferation.
Keywords: Key words. Insulin-like growth factors; IGF-I receptor; cancer; receptor signaling.
Footnotes
Received 21 November 1999; received after revision 11 January 2000; accepted 9 February 2000