KISS1 in metastatic cancer research and treatment: potential and paradoxes

The significance of KISS1 goes beyond its original discovery as a metastasis suppressor. Its function as a neuropeptide involved in diverse physiologic processes is more well studied. Enthusiasm regarding KISS1 has cumulated in clinical trials in multiple fields related to reproduction and metabolism. But its cancer therapeutic space is unsettled. This review focuses on collating data from cancer and non-cancer fields in order to understand shared and disparate signaling that might inform clinical development in the cancer therapeutic and biomarker space. Research has focused on amino acid residues 68-121 (kisspeptin 54), binding to the KISS1 receptor and cellular responses. Evidence and counterevidence regarding this canonical pathway require closer look at the covariates so that the incredible potential of KISS1 can be realized.