Review of the Ubiquitin Role in DNA Repair and Tumorigenesis, with Emphasis in Breast Cancer Treatment; Current Data and Future Options

Breast carcinoma remains the commonest carcinoma among women worldwide. Despite the fact that impressive progression has been achieved so far regarding pathophysiol-ogy, histopathology and treatment of this cancer, there are still undiscovered fields on molecular and therapeutic levels. The need of resolving problems such as chemoresistance, recurrence and metastasis has led in revealing key molecules in the development and progression of malignancies, including breast tumors. In this review, we will briefly describe the functions of ubiquitin and post-translational modifications (PTMs) focusing specially in DNA repair and then discuss about the implication of ubiquitin and related molecules in tumorigenesis and specifically in breast carcinoma. So far there are only few drugs approved by FDA that target the ubiquitin system. There will be an analysis regarding the current and potential anti-cancer therapeutic strategies based on targeting specific ubiquitin-related molecules.