Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway in Pediatric Tumors: Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment

• Published in: Children (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 6; p. 700
• Main Authors: Choudhary, Sahar, Singh, Mithalesh Kumar, Kashyap, Seema, Seth, Rachna, Singh, Lata
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Age; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Cell cycle; Cell differentiation; Cell growth; Chemotherapy; Development and progression; Gender; Genes; Genetic engineering; Genomics; Homeostasis; Kinases; Medical diagnosis; Medical prognosis; Mutation; neuroblastoma; Pediatrics; Proteins; Retinoblastoma; Review; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Signal transduction; Stem cells; targeted therapies; Tumorigenesis; Tumors; Tumors in children; Wilms tumor; Wnt signaling pathway
• ISSN: 2227-9067; 2227-9067
• DOI: 10.3390/children11060700

The evolutionarily conserved Wnt signaling has a significant and diverse role in maintaining cell homeostasis and tissue maintenance. It is necessary in the regulation of crucial biological functions such as embryonal development, proliferation, differentiation, cell fate, and stem cell pluripotency. The deregulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling often leads to various diseases, including cancer and non-cancer diseases. The role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in adult tumors has been extensively studied in literature. Although the Wnt signaling pathway has been well explored and recognized to play a role in the initiation and progression of cancer, there is still a lack of understanding on how it affects pediatric tumors. This review discusses the recent developments of this signaling pathway in pediatric tumors. We also focus on understanding how different types of variations in Wnt signaling pathway contribute to cancer development and provide an insight of tissue specific mutations that lead to clinical progression of these tumors.