Blocking FAK Signaling in the Tumor or Stroma and Effects on Metastasis

摘要

FAK expression and activity are elevated during ovarian cancer progression and this is associated with a poor clinical prognosis. We have found that a new small molecular FAK inhibitor can block ovarian carcinoma tumor growth in mice without general toxicity. To determine the mechanism of action, we found that FAK activity selectively promotes the survival of tumor cells when grown under three-dimensional (3D) conditions as spheroids but not in normal adherent 2D culture. These results point to a novel role for FAK activity in generating anchorage independent survival signals. We hypothesize that pharmacological inhibition of this novel FAK survival pathway may synergize with existing cytotoxic chemotherapies for ovarian cancer treatment.