The NF-kappa B activation pathways, emerging molecular targets for cancer prevention and therapy

Importance of the field. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) is activated by a variety of cancer-promoting agents. The reciprocal activation between NF-kappa B and inflammatory cytokines makes NF-kappa B important for inflammation-associated cancer development. Both the constitutive and anticancer therapeutic-induced NF-kappa B activation blunts the anticancer activities of the therapy. Elucidating the roles of NF-kappa B in cancer facilitates developing approaches for cancer prevention and therapy. Areas covered in this review. By searching PubMed, we summarize the progress of studies on NF-kappa B in carcinogenesis and cancer cells' drug resistance in recent 10 years. What the reader will gain: The mechanisms by which NF-kappa B activation pathways are activated; the roles and mechanisms of NF-kappa B in cell survival and proliferation, and in carcinogenesis and cancer cells' response to therapy; recent development of NF-kappa B-modulating means and their application in cancer prevention and therapy. Take home message: NF-kappa B is involved in cancer development, modulating NF-kappa B activation pathways has important implications in cancer prevention and therapy. Due to the complexity of NF-kappa B roles in different cancers, careful evaluation of NF-kappa B's in each cancer type is crucial in this regard. More cancer cell-specific NF-kappa B inhibiting means are desired for improving anticancer efficacy and reducing systemic toxicity.