Aberrant Sialylation in Cancer Pathology and Metastasis, a Putative Drug Target Candidate

Background Neoplasm metastasis is a multi-step and multi-level pathological feature causing 90% of cancer mortality due to a shortage of effective drugs and clinical therapeutics. To change this scenario, new drug targets and developments are required.

Method: Aberrant tumor sialylation as a putative drug target candidate has been evolving over the past halfcentury. Some specific agents and clinical events suggested some promising therapeutic potentiality and benefits against neoplasm metastasis in a number of cellular and animal tumor models.

Results: Since neoplasm tissues often contain higher levels and diverse sialic acids (sia) analogues and antigens, sia-related tumor biology/pathology are emerging as cancer diagnostic categories and a series of useful agents until now. Previously some compounds enabling to inhibit sia-related pathologic pathways were reported to exhibit therapeutic activity in cellular or animal tumor models. These types of cancer treatment agents can provide excellent therapeutic outcomes by glycome/metabolomics diagnostics first.

Conclusion: Taking together these experimental/clinical discoveries, the "Central Dogma" of glycobiology might be found out via all these principle discoveries. In addition, mathematic- or physics-majored talents might render new therapeutic discoveries by computational analysis of experimental and clinical data. Overall, therapeutic targets/benefits in the clinic should be pursued with earnest attitude.

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