Abstract
Adhesion properties of cancer cells have been recognized as very significant biological features of malignant tumor related to metastasis, and carbohydrates and carbohydrate-binding proteins have been identified as key structural determinants involved in tumor cell adhesion. The antimetastatic activity of several natural and synthetic cell adhesion inhibitors has been shown on an experimental model of metastasis. Recently, the possibility of using the tumor cell aggregation glycodeterminants themselves as a tool for antimetastatic therapy of human cancer has been suggested [1,2]. This overview will focus on the analysis of current data on biological characterization of glycodeterminants of melanoma cell adhesion and the prospect of antimetastatic drugs development for malignant melanoma. The role in these processes of extracellular, in particular serum biomacromolecules carrying and/or specifically recognizing of the glycodeterminants of cancer cell aggregation will be discussed. A model for design and application for treatment of human cancer of natural and synthetic cell adhesion inhibitors with biospecificity for glycodeterminants of tumor cell aggregation will be considered.
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