Protein Phosphatase 2A as a Potential Target for Anticancer Therapy

The kinase oncogenes are well-characterized drivers of cancer development, and several targeted therapies focused on both specific and selectively nonselective kinase inhibitors have now been approved for clinical use. In contrast, much less is known about the role of protein phosphatases, although modulation of their activities might form the foundation for an effective anti-cancer approach. The serine-threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is implicated in the regulation of numerous signaling pathways and may function as a tumor suppressor. Recently pharmacological modulation of PP2A activity has been showed to have a potent anti-tumor activity in both in vitro and in vivo cancer models. These studies implicate PP2A as a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer.