Understanding Aberrant Signaling to Elude Therapy Escape Mechanisms in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Abstract

Aberrant signaling in myeloproliferative neoplasms may arise from alterations in genes coding for signal transduction proteins or epigenetic regulators. Both mutated and normal cells co-operate, altering fragile balances in bone marrow niches and fueling persistent inflammation through paracrine or systemic signals. Despite the hopes placed in targeted therapies, myeloid pro-liferative neoplasms remain incurable diseases in patients not eligible for stem cell transplantation. Due to the emergence of drug resistance, patient management is often very difficult in the long term. Unexpected connections among signal transduction pathways highlighted in neoplastic cells sug-gest new strategies to overcome neoplastic cell adaptation.