Additionally, given its role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression, galectin-3 targeting is currently under investigation for its potential utility as treatment for thyroid cancer.<b>Areas covered</b>: Recent studies of galectin-3 as a serum marker for thyroid cancer diagnosis, and in the preclinical setting as a target for cancer imaging and therapy.<b>Expert opinion</b>: Even though current studies evaluating galectin-3 as a serum marker and target for cancer imaging and therapy are promising, further research is required before it can be adopted into routine clinical use.
In summary, our results indicated that overexpression of galectin-3 is significantly related to the tumor progression and could be a efficient in predicting the prognosis of patients with CRC.
Increased Gal-3 expression during cancer progression augments tumor growth, invasiveness, metastatic potential, and immune suppression, which highlights the potential use of Gal-3 as a therapeutic target capable of modulating anti-tumor immunity.
Over the last few decades galectin-3, a carbohydrate binding protein, with affinity for N-acetyllactosamine residues, has been unique due to the regulatory roles it performs in processes associated with tumor progression and metastasis such as cell proliferation, homotypic/heterotypic aggregation, dynamic cellular transformation, migration and invasion, survival and apoptosis.
Gal-3 overexpression in RCC promoted both in vitro and in vivo tumorigenicity, and its expression was correlated with CXCR2 expression and tumour progression in clinical tissues.
Modified citrus pectin (MCP) is an effective inhibitor of galectin-3 (Gal-3), which is correlated with tumor progression, proliferation, angiogenesis, and apoptosis.
As MUC1 and galectin-3 are both commonly overexpressed in most types of epithelial cancers, their interaction and impact on EGFR activation likely makes important contribution to EGFR-associated tumorigenesis and cancer progression and may also influence the effectiveness of EGFR-targeted cancer therapy.
This is the first evidence for differences in glycan selectivity of Gal-3∆ and Gal-3 and may be further utilized for tracing Gal-3∆ during tumor progression and therapy.
Galectin-3 has been shown to be correlated with tumor progression in a variety of cancer types through the regulation of tumor proliferation, angiogenesis, and apoptosis.
Changes in galectin-3 expression are commonly seen in cancerous and pre-cancerous conditions and galectin-3 may be involved in the regulation of cancer cell activities that contribute to tumourigenesis, cancer progression and metastasis.