AccScience Publishing / GPD / Volume 3 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.36922/gpd.3062
REVIEW

TOPK: A noteworthy target for lung cancer treatment

Wenbo Liu1,2,3 Feng Zhu1 Qiuhong Duan1 Yafang Li1,3 Shuang Zhao1 Juanjuan Xiao1* Yijie Zhang2,3*
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1 Translational Medical Center, Huaihe Hospital, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China
2 Department of Respiratory, School of Second Clinical Medicine, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China
3 Department of Respiratory, Huaihe Hospital of Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China
Submitted: 29 February 2024 | Accepted: 15 May 2024 | Published: 12 June 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

T-LAK cell-originated protein kinase (TOPK) is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is specifically expressed in actively proliferating cells, such as normal testicular germ cells, lymphocytes, and various tumor cells. It plays a key role in multiple biological processes, such as cell growth, metastasis, drug resistance, angiogenesis, and inflammation, and is a promising therapeutic target for tumors. Aberrant TOPK overexpression or activation has been observed in lung cancer and is related to lung cancer occurrence and development, clinical outcome, and poor prognosis. The inhibition of TOPK has demonstrated significant therapeutic potential for reducing tumor growth and can even be used in combination with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Thus, targeting TOPK provides a promising avenue for the prevention and treatment of lung cancer. This article reviews the role of TOPK in the occurrence, development, and drug resistance of lung cancer; summarizes the main signaling pathways affected by TOPK in lung cancer; and analyzes its therapeutic value. The role and potential of TOPK in targeted therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy for lung cancer are also discussed. In addition, the latest progress in the use of TOPK inhibitors for lung cancer treatment is summarized, and their future clinical application is discussed. Overall, TOPK is a valuable target for the treatment of lung cancer, and further development of specific TOPK inhibitors is indispensable for the comprehensive treatment of lung cancer.

Keywords
TOPK
Lung cancer
Cancer treatment
Inhibitors
Target
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 82260528, 8190284), and the International Cooperation Projects of Henan Province (Grant no. 232102521030).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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