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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 7, 2015; 21(41): 11673-11679
Published online Nov 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i41.11673
Mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway and invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer
Mei Yang, Chang-Zhi Huang
Mei Yang, Chang-Zhi Huang, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Author contributions: Yang M and Huang CZ wrote and revised the manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81472208; and the Open Projects of State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, No. SKL-KF-2015-12.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Chang-Zhi Huang, Professor, Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 17 Panjiayuan Nanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100021, China. huangpumc@163.com
Telephone: +86-10-87787605 Fax: +86-10-87788426
Received: April 27, 2015
Peer-review started: April 30, 2015
First decision: June 2, 2015
Revised: July 11, 2015
Accepted: September 15, 2015
Article in press: September 15, 2015
Published online: November 7, 2015
Processing time: 190 Days and 15.5 Hours
Abstract

The mortality rate of gastric cancer worldwide is as high as 70%, despite the development of novel therapeutic strategies. One reason for the high mortality is the rapid and uninhibited spread of the disease, such that the majority of patients are diagnosed at a stage when efficient therapeutic treatment is not available. Therefore, in-depth research is needed to investigate the mechanism of gastric cancer metastasis and invasion to improve outcomes and provide biomarkers for early diagnosis. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway is widely expressed in multicellular organisms, with critical roles in multiple biological processes, such as cell proliferation, death, differentiation, migration, and invasion. The MAPK pathway typically responds to extracellular stimulation. However, the MAPK pathway is often involved in the occurrence and progression of cancer when abnormally regulated. Many studies have researched the relationship between the MAPK signaling pathway and cancer metastasis and invasion, but little is known about the important roles that the MAPK signaling pathway plays in gastric cancer. Based on an analysis of published data, this review aims to summarize the important role that the MAP kinases play in the invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer and attempts to provide potential directions for further research and clinical treatment.

Keywords: Mitogen-activated protein kinase; Gastric cancer; Signaling; Invasion; Metastasis

Core tip: The mortality rate of gastric cancer is as high as 70% worldwide due to the rapid and uninhibited metastasis and invasiveness of the disease. Although the relationship between the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway and cancer metastasis and invasion has been widely researched, few studies have focused on gastric cancer. Here we review the function of the three central kinases of the MAPK signaling pathway, ERK, JNK and p38, in the metastasis and invasion of gastric cancer, and we attempt to provide support for further in-depth study and clinical application.