A fundamental characteristic of cancer cells is suppression of apoptosis and increased cell survival. These properties, when combined with deregulated cell proliferation, are the basic requirements for development of cancer. Increased deregulated cell proliferation by itself paradoxically may trigger cell death pathways which prevent outgrowth of the cancer cell unless the cell death pathways are inhibited. Another consequence of the latter may he resistance to treatments that depend on induction of apoptosis in the cancer cell. These widely held concepts have given rise to intense study of the antiapoptotic mechanisms generated in different cancer cells that are driven by different oncogenic stimuli and how these mechanisms may operate against different therapies used against cancers. The mechanisms by which different therapies induce apoptosis are in turn poorly understood and answers to both questions are needed in development of effective treatment approaches. In the following sections, we review recent information about regulation of apoptosis, how oncogenes interact with apoptotic pathways, and some of the therapeutic opportunities that are developing as a consequence of this information. Emphasis is given to studies on melanoma as a model system in these developments.
Programmed Cell Death in Cancer Progression and Therapy p. 105-126