ABSTRACT
Cancer, the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells, results from the accumulation of numerous sequential mutations and alterations in nuclear and cytoplasmic molecules (Gescher et al. 2001). Cancer progression or tumorigenesis is considered to involve three key steps: initiation, in which a normal cell is transformed into an initiated or abnormal cell; promotion, by which the initiated cell is converted into a preneoplastic cell; and progression, the process whereby the cells become neoplastic (Thangapazham et al. 2006). Cancer may be initiated due to multiple factors including exposure to carcinogens, repeated genetic damage by oxidative stress, chronic in›ammation, or hormonal imbalance. This, followed by a cascade of reactions triggered by multiple signaling molecules, makes it dif•cult to target a speci•c molecule responsible for the disease and thereby retard progression.
