Targeting the Calcium Signalling Machinery in Cancer

Abstract

Cancer is caused by excessive cell proliferation and a propensity to avoid cell death, while the spread of cancer is facilitated by enhanced cellular migration, invasion, and vascularization. Cytosolic Ca2+ is central to each of these important processes, yet to date, there are no cancer drugs currently being used clinically, and very few undergoing clinical trials, that target the Ca2+ signalling machinery. The aim of this review is to highlight some of the emerging evidence that targeting key components of the Ca2+ signalling machinery represents a novel and relatively untapped therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer.