Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality in developed countries such as the USA. In 1998, there were more than 280,000 and 250,000
cancer related deaths in males and females, respectively. In males, lung and
prostate cancers accounted for almost half of these deaths, whereas in females, lung and breast
cancers were the leading causes of
cancer mortalities. Therefore, the study of
cancer has been of the utmost importance to patients, doctors, and researchers alike. A variety of cellular processes occur in the precancerous cells that contribute to the development and progression to
cancer. Not surprisingly, all of these cellular processes have been targeted for anticancer
therapy. A novel
serpin,
maspin, has demonstrated a robust effect on a variety of these
cancer progression steps. A number of studies have shown that
maspin inhibits angiogenesis and
tumor cell growth and invasion both in vitro and in vivo. In addition,
maspin promotes cell adhesion to the basement membrane and extracellular matrix components. Efforts underway to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the diverse functions influenced by
maspin have yielded promising results and shed light on the
cancer pathways.