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Breast Cancer
Published in: Breast Cancer 4/2019

01-07-2019 | Breast Cancer | Review Article

Clinical application of ceramide in cancer treatment

Authors: Kazuki Moro, Masayuki Nagahashi, Emmanuel Gabriel, Kazuaki Takabe, Toshifumi Wakai

Published in: Breast Cancer | Issue 4/2019

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Abstract

Development of innovative strategies for cancer treatment is a pressing public health issue. Despite recent advances, the mechanisms of cancer progression and the resistance to cancer treatment have not been fully elucidated. Sphingolipids, including ceramide and sphingoshin-1-phosphate, are bioactive mediators that regulate cancer cell death and survival through the dynamic balance of what has been termed the ‘sphingolipid rheostat’. Specifically, ceramide, which acts as the central hub of sphingolipid metabolism, is generated via three major pathways by many stressors, including anti-cancer treatments, environmental stresses, and cytokines. We have previously shown in breast cancer patients that elevated ceramide correlated with less aggressive cancer phenotypes, leading to a prognostic impact. Recent studies showed that ceramide have the possibility of becoming the reinforcing agent of cancer treatment as well as other roles such as nanoparticles and diagnostic biomarker. We review ceramide as one of the key molecules to investigate in overcoming resistance to current drug therapies and in becoming one of the newest cancer treatments.
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Metadata
Title
Clinical application of ceramide in cancer treatment
Authors
Kazuki Moro
Masayuki Nagahashi
Emmanuel Gabriel
Kazuaki Takabe
Toshifumi Wakai
Publication date
01-07-2019
Publisher
Springer Japan
Published in
Breast Cancer / Issue 4/2019
Print ISSN: 1340-6868
Electronic ISSN: 1880-4233
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-019-00953-8

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