Research the Literature on Your Own

1. Describe one way in which retinoic acid (mentioned briefly in the lecture) is used in the targeted treatment of cancer?


2. Using the diagram of “Cellular circuits mutated in cancer” presented in the lecture as a starting point, choose a protein shown in red, and research and present its role in cancer development.


3. One could imagine that loss of integrin expression could promote metastasis because tumor cells more easily detach from the primary tumor. Conversely, overexpression or mis-expression of integrins might also promote metastasis by allowing tumor cells to migrate and survive in a wider variety of ECM environments. Find evidence in the literature to either support or refute these two hypotheses. Are they mutually exclusive?