ENZYMES AS TARGETS FOR CANCER THERAPY

Cancer is a deliberating disease affecting people worldwide. Treatment of cancer has become a number one priority among medical specialists and different modes of treatment are being pursued. Various factors are involved in the proliferation of cancer thereby complicating its treatment. Certain enzymes or protein products within the cell can be up-regulated or down-regulated as the cancer progresses inside the tissue. In order to treat cancer, enzymes which play a key role in the disease can be targeted. These enzymes include cysteine cathepsins and matrix metalloproteinases. Cysteine cathepsins are a group of enzymes that are involved in degradation of the surrounding cell environment of cancer cells. The surrounding healthy cells are thereby invaded and destroyed by cancer cells. Hence they cause localized spreading and growth of cancer cells. Matrix metalloproteinase are mainly involved in metastasis of these cancer cells. They help in angiogenesis surrounding the cancer tissue thus providing nutrition to cells and proliferation via the blood stream. Hence both enzymes has a vital role in proliferation of cancer cells into body. These enzymes can be targeted for treatment of cancer and can act as a supplementary process to the cancer Containment, which in turn can increase the chances of survival. Various drugs are under trial for this form of therapy.