The urokinase plasminogen activator system in cancer: A putative therapeutic target?

The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) system is an endogenous proteolytic cascade which can be actively subverted by the neoplastic process to facilitate progression and metastasis. Abundant experimental and clinical evidence supports such a role and elevated levels of components of the uPA system are strong negative prognosis indicators in a wide variety of tumor types. Collectively this data makes the uPA system an attractive option for targeted intervention. This review examines the role of the uPA system in tumor invasion and metastasis and assess the various therapeutic modalities developed to selectively exploit this system. (C) 2008 Prous Science, S.A.U. or its licensors. All rights reserved.