Affiliations 

  • 1 Biomedical Science Programme, Centre for Toxicology and Health Risk Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, National University of Malaysia, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Centre for Healthy Ageing and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, National University of Malaysia, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Faculty of Pharmacy, National University of Malaysia, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Malaysia
Int J Oncol, 2021 02;58(2):185-198.
PMID: 33491756 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2020.5164

Abstract

Lung cancer is one of the most lethal forms of cancer known to man, affecting millions of individuals worldwide. Despite advancements being made in lung cancer treatments, the prognosis of patients with the disease remains poor, particularly among patients with late‑stage lung cancer. The elucidation of the signaling pathways involved in lung cancer is a critical approach for the treatment of the disease. Over the past decades, accumulating evidence has revealed that Rho‑associated kinase (ROCK) is overexpressed in lung cancer and is associated with tumor growth. The present review discusses recent findings of ROCK signaling in the pathogenesis of lung cancer that were conducted in pre‑clinical studies. The significant role of ROCK in cancer cell apoptosis, proliferation, migration, invasion and angiogenesis is discussed. The present review also suggests the use of ROCK as a potential target for the development of lung cancer therapies, as ROCK inhibition can reduce multiple hallmarks of cancer, particularly by decreasing cancer cell migration, which is an initial step of metastasis.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.