Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
Katalin Kovács
MTA-DE Cell Biology and Signaling Research Group, Debrecen, Hungary
Zsuzsanna Polgár
Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
Zsolt Regdon
Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
Éva Szabó
Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
Agnieszka Robaszkiewicz
Department of General Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Pomorska 141/143, 90-236 Lodz, Poland
Henry Jay Forman
Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Anna Martner
TIMM Laboratory, Sahlgrenska Cancer Center, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
László Virág
Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary; MTA-DE Cell Biology and Signaling Research Group, Debrecen, Hungary; Correspponding author at: Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
Redox regulation has been proposed to control various aspects of carcinogenesis, cancer cell growth, metabolism, migration, invasion, metastasis and cancer vascularization. As cancer has many faces, the role of redox control in different cancers and in the numerous cancer-related processes often point in different directions. In this review, we focus on the redox control mechanisms of tumor cell destruction. The review covers the tumor-intrinsic role of oxidants derived from the reduction of oxygen and nitrogen in the control of tumor cell proliferation as well as the roles of oxidants and antioxidant systems in cancer cell death caused by traditional anticancer weapons (chemotherapeutic agents, radiotherapy, photodynamic therapy). Emphasis is also put on the role of oxidants and redox status in the outcome following interactions between cancer cells, cytotoxic lymphocytes and tumor infiltrating macrophages. Keywords: Cancer, Redox regulation, Natural killer cells, Cytotoxic lymphocytes, Chemotherapeutics, Free radicals, Antioxidants
