NFκB signaling in carcinogenesis and as a potential molecular target for cancer therapy

It has become increasingly clear that deregulation of the NF kappa B signaling cascade is a common underlying feature of many human ailments including cancers. The past two decades of intensive research on NF kappa B has identified the basic mechanisms that govern the functioning of this pathway but uncovering the details of why this pathway works differently in different cellular contexts or how it interacts with other signaling pathways remains a challenge. A thorough understanding of these processes is needed to design better and more efficient therapeutic approaches to treat complex diseases like cancer. In this review, we summarize the literature documenting the involvement of NF kappa B in cancer, and then focus on the approaches that are being undertaken to develop NF kappa B inhibitors towards treatment of human cancers.