Altered Pathways in Cancer: Signaling Cascades and Mutations

This lecture explores the concept of pathways in cancer, focusing on how molecules coordinate responses through signal cascades. It delves into major signaling pathways like Ras, Akt, Notch, Hedgehog, TGFB, WNT, and Cell Death signaling. The instructor discusses how signals from outside cells, such as RTKs, play a crucial role in cancer development. The lecture also covers autocrine and paracrine signals, highlighting examples of human tumors producing autocrine growth factors. Furthermore, it explains the role of receptor tyrosine kinases, RAS oncogenes, and downstream signaling cascades in cancer progression. The presentation concludes with a detailed analysis of hotspot mutations in RAS and BRAF genes, emphasizing their impact on protein activity and downstream signaling pathways.