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Tumor Biology
Published in: Tumor Biology 9/2015

01-09-2015 | Review

Survivin splice variants and their diagnostic significance

Authors: Nand K. Sah, Chandrabhan Seniya

Published in: Tumor Biology | Issue 9/2015

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Abstract

Survivin plays a crucial role in cell division particularly during the development of the fetus, in the onset and progression of most tumors and is found expressed in a few terminally differentiated cells. Altogether, there are ten splice variants of survivin, some of which are not yet satisfactorily characterized. Several isoforms may undergo homo/heterodimerization, particularly with the wild-type survivin to elicit a variety of biological functions. The detection of survivin and its splice variants not only suggests the onset, maintenance, and progression of cancer, but also the stage of certain cancers. Recent studies demonstrate that the presence of survivin in urine and blood samples of patients may suggest urogenital and bladder cancer hematologic malignancies, respectively. The expression of the survivin-3α splice variant is indicative of the onset and progression of breast cancer. Several companies have developed cancer diagnostic kits using survivin for detection of cancer. Some are also engaged in fine-tuning the type and stage-specific diagnosis of cancer based on survivin, its splice variants with and without other markers, such as hyaluronidase. Briefly, survivin and its splice variants hold a great biological significance, particularly in the diagnosis of cancer.
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Metadata
Title
Survivin splice variants and their diagnostic significance
Authors
Nand K. Sah
Chandrabhan Seniya
Publication date
01-09-2015
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Tumor Biology / Issue 9/2015
Print ISSN: 1010-4283
Electronic ISSN: 1423-0380
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3865-5

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