Copyright
©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Telomerase activity: An attractive target for cancer therapeutics
Lucia Picariello, Cecilia Grappone, Simone Polvani, Andrea Galli, Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy
Author contributions: Picariello L, Grappone C, Polvani S and Galli A contributed to this paper.
Correspondence to: Andrea Galli, MD, PhD, Professor, Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini n°6, 50139 Florence, Italy. andrea.galli@unifi.it
Telephone: +39-5-54271419 Fax: +39-5-54271297
Received: July 28, 2014
Revised: October 1, 2014
Accepted: October 28, 2014
Published online: December 9, 2014
Revised: October 1, 2014
Accepted: October 28, 2014
Published online: December 9, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: One of the hallmark of cancer is the replicative immortality of tumor cells guaranteed by telomerase activity that counteracts progressive telomere shortening during cellular replication: this makes telomerase a tumor marker and a target for anticancer drugs. In this review we summarize and update the most recent innovative studies and results on the different strategies that consider telomerase as a target for cancer therapy. In particular, we try to point out the advantages and the potentialities of some innovative approaches, compared to other, equally promising, but that need further investigations.