Lerman B, Harricharran T, Ogunwobi OO. Oxytocin and cancer: An emerging link. World J Clin Oncol 2018; 9(5): 74-82 [PMID: 30254962 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v9.i5.74]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Olorunseun O Ogunwobi, MBBS, MSc, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Hunter College of the City University of New York, Belfer Research Building, Room 426, 413 E. 69th Street, New York, NY 10065, United States. ogunwobi@genectr.hunter.cuny.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Sep 14, 2018; 9(5): 74-82 Published online Sep 14, 2018. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v9.i5.74
Oxytocin and cancer: An emerging link
Ben Lerman, Trisheena Harricharran, Olorunseun O Ogunwobi
Ben Lerman, Trisheena Harricharran, Olorunseun O Ogunwobi, Department of Biological Sciences, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10065, United States
Trisheena Harricharran, Olorunseun O Ogunwobi, the Graduate Center Departments of Biology and Biochemistry, the City University of New York, New York, NY 10016, United States
Olorunseun O Ogunwobi, Joan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, United States
Author contributions: Lerman B and Ogunwobi OO conceived of the article; Lerman B, Harricharran T and Ogunwobi OO wrote the article; Ogunwobi OO supervised all of the work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Olorunseun O Ogunwobi, MBBS, MSc, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Hunter College of the City University of New York, Belfer Research Building, Room 426, 413 E. 69th Street, New York, NY 10065, United States. ogunwobi@genectr.hunter.cuny.edu
Telephone: +1-212-8960447
Received: June 11, 2018 Peer-review started: June 12, 2018 First decision: July 9, 2018 Revised: July 11, 2018 Accepted: August 6, 2018 Article in press: August 7, 2018 Published online: September 14, 2018 Processing time: 95 Days and 8.9 Hours
Abstract
The neuropeptide hormone oxytocin, which is released from the posterior pituitary gland, is involved in a number of physiological processes. Understanding of its effects is gradually increasing due to new research in this area. While mostly recognized as a reproductive system hormone, oxytocin also regulates other organ systems such as the brain and cardiovascular system. Recently, research has focused on unraveling its involvement in cancer, and emerging evidence suggests a potential role for oxytocin as a cancer biomarker. This review summarizes observations linking oxytocin and cancer, with a special emphasis on prostate cancer, where it may promote cell proliferation. Research suggests that oxytocin effects may depend on cell type, concentration of the hormone, its interactions with other hormones in the microenvironment, and the precise localization of its receptor on the cell membrane. Future research is needed to further elucidate the involvement of oxytocin in cancer, and whether it could be a clinical cancer biomarker or therapeutic target.
Core tip: Oxytocin’s role outside of the reproductive system and social bonding has yet to be fully elucidated. Apparently, its role in cancer may vary depending on location and cell type. This review summarizes the current state of our understanding of the potential role of oxytocin in cancer.
