Noncanonical NF-kappa B in Cancer

The NF-kappa B pathway is a critical regulator of immune responses and is often dysregulated in cancer. Two NF-kappa B pathways have been described to mediate these responses, the canonical and the noncanonical. While understudied compared to the canonical NF-kappa B pathway, noncanonical NF-kappa B and its components have been shown to have effects, usually protumorigenic, in many different cancer types. Here, we review noncanonical NF-kappa B pathways and discuss its important roles in promoting cancer. We also discuss alternative NF-kappa B-independent functions of some the components of noncanonical NF-kappa B signaling. Finally, we discuss important crosstalk between canonical and noncanonical signaling, which blurs the two pathways, indicating that understanding the full picture of NF-kappa B regulation is critical to deciphering how this broad pathway promotes oncogenesis.