Therapeutic prospective of targeting calcium homeostasis in cancer – a review

Abstract

Cancer is recognized as the major concern in today’s world. Cancer is a condition or a group of diseases in which cells are abnormally divided. In the past century, the understanding and treatment of cancer has improved a lot and treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery etc. have emerged. However, these are not enough to meet the desirable expectations and there is still need of new approaches for better treatment. A series of current reports described that an imbalance in intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis may cause cancer in the human body. So, to treat cancer, targeting derailed Ca2+ signaling is being explored more recently. This review has discussed about some important Ca2+ channels, transporters and Ca2+ ATP-ases that have been found to be altered in cancer patients. It also involves the research and effort of the scientists towards the evaluation of the blockers, inhibitors or regulators for Ca2+ channels/transporters or Ca2+-ATPase pumps as potential anti-cancer drugs.