Mümin Alper Erdoğan1, Oytun Erbaş2

1İzmir Katip Çelebi Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Fizyoloji Anabilim Dalı, İzmir, Türkiye
2İstanbul Bilim Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Fizyoloji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye

Keywords: Cancer; ion channels; metastasis; new targets; proliferation.

Abstract

Ion channels are in the basic structural elements of living cells. In recent years it has emerged that ion channels have vital importance in tumor development and cancer progression. A series of genetic alterations that can affect the expression of ion channels or cause a change in ion channel activity occurs during transformation of a normal cell to the cancer. Ion channels are associated with cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, angiogenesis and metastasis. Ion channels still constitute a new field of research in oncology. Ultimately, a detailed understanding of the role of ion channels in key processes related to cancer will facilitate the development of molecular-targeted tools for diagnosis and treatment.