%0 Journal Article
%T Understanding and Targeting the Wnt/¦Â-Catenin Signaling Pathway in Chronic Leukemia
%A S. Thanendrarajan
%A Y. Kim
%A I. G. H. Schmidt-Wolf
%J Leukemia Research and Treatment
%D 2011
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.4061/2011/329572
%X It has been revealed that the Wnt/¦Â-catenin signaling pathway plays an important role in the development of solid tumors and hematological malignancies, particularly in B-cell neoplasia and leukemia. In the last decade there have been made experimental approaches targeting the Wnt pathway in chronic leukemia. In this paper we provide an overview about the current state of knowledge regarding the Wnt/¦Â-catenin signaling pathway in chronic leukemia with special focus on therapeutic options and strategies. 1. Introduction 1.1. Treatment of Chronic Leukemia Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a one of the myeloproliferative diseases and represents 15¨C20% of all adult leukemia types. Depending on clinical aspects and laboratory findings, CML can be divided in three phases. Typically CML begins in the chronic phase, and over several years it progresses to the accelerated phase and finally to the blast crisis. By the introduction of the bcr-abl tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib and the second-generation TKIs dasatinib and nilotinib, the treatment of CML has been revolutionized. The overall survival rate of patients with CML has been clearly improved. Nevertheless, resistance and incompatibilities against TKIs are well known, and a molecular remission is difficult to achieve [1]. Curing patients with CML could only be achieved by performing allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) belonging to the indolent B-non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) is the most common leukemia in the adult. The treatment of CLL mainly depends on the clinical stage of the disease, which is determined by the Binet staging system (A¨CC). In the early stage a ¡°watch and wait¡± strategy is recommended. In progress of CLL, various chemotherapeutical options are determined. The application of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) is one of the treatment standards in the first-line therapy of CLL [2]. Further alternative therapeutic options, particularly in progress or relapse and under consideration of several clinical aspects, have been established. These include the application of bendamustin and rituximab (R-Benda), chlorambucil, and alemtuzumab [2]. Despite the progress made in developing effective chemotherapeutic regimes, CLL remains an incurable disease. The only curative approach in CLL represents the performance of ASCT. 1.2. Wnt/¦Â-Catenin Signaling Pathway The Wingless-Int (Wnt) signaling pathway plays an essential role in embryogenesis and proliferation, survival, and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) [3, 4]. It
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/lrt/2011/329572/