Receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathways: a review

The two important enabling characteristics of cancer cells are uncontrolled proliferation and loss of programmed cell death (enhanced survival). These processes are tightly controlled by the discrete integration of signalling cascades that translate extracellular and intracellular cues into specific output responses.  Alterations in these pathways in cancer cells by mutation, amplification/deletion, chromosomal translocation, over expression, or epigenetic silencing lead to constitutive activation or suppression of signalling. We will review the major signal transduction cascade well known as the receptor tyrosine kinase pathway, focussing on their common alterations in human cancers and their clinical implications and therapeutics. Since major drug development efforts are presently being focused on the development of targeted inhibitors of oncogene-activated signalling pathways, a detailed understanding of these normal physiological pathways along with their deregulation in cancer will be required of both basic cancer researchers and practicing clinical oncologists for betterment of mankind suffering. Hence with this requirement in mind we have written this article to highlight some of the most important signal transduction pathways that is receptor tyrosine signalling pathways.