Emerging roles of MUC4 in cancer: a novel target for diagnosis and therapy.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-5870, USA.

The MUC4 mucin is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is implicated in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer and is aberrantly expressed in many other epithelial carcinomas. Recent studies suggest its significant potential as a clinical tool for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. MUC4 modulates HER2/ErbB2 signaling and is a determinant of therapeutic outcome of Herceptin-based therapy, which further indicates its prospective usefulness in cancer therapy and treatment planning.

PMID: 17234748 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]