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Monitoring Survivin Expression in Cancer: Implications for Prognosis and Therapy

Molecular Diagnosis & Therapy volume 17, pages 331–342 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, is one of the most cancer-specific proteins identified to date. Survivin expression is low or undetectable in most adult tissues, but, alternatively, is overexpressed in a large number of tumors. This multifunctional protein is recognized as a key regulator in apoptosis, proliferation and angiogenesis in the tumor environment. Several studies have shown a correlation between survivin upregulation and poor cancer prognosis, and, as expected, its downregulation or inactivation leads to inhibition of tumor growth. Therefore, survivin has attracted increasing attention both as a potential cancer biomarker and as a new target for anticancer therapies. This review summarizes and discusses survivin expression and its potential as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker in different types of tumors, as well as provides an overview of the current therapeutic challenges of targeting survivin as a treatment strategy.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this article.

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Affiliations

  1. Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Rodrigo Santa Cruz Guindalini

  2. Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, Bahia, Brazil

    Maria Cecília Mathias Machado

  3. Centro de Oncologia e Instituto de Pesquisa e Ensino, Hospital Sírio Libanês, Av Adma Jafet 91, São Paulo, 01308-050, Brazil

    Bernardo Garicochea

Authors
  1. Rodrigo Santa Cruz Guindalini
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  2. Maria Cecília Mathias Machado
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  3. Bernardo Garicochea
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Correspondence to Bernardo Garicochea.

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Guindalini, R.S.C., Mathias Machado, M.C. & Garicochea, B. Monitoring Survivin Expression in Cancer: Implications for Prognosis and Therapy. Mol Diagn Ther 17, 331–342 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40291-013-0048-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40291-013-0048-1

Keywords

  • Acute Myeloid Leukemia
  • Survivin Expression
  • Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cell
  • Survivin mRNA
  • Solid Tumor Patient