The role of glycoproteins in nasopharyngeal carcinoma pathogenesis

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumor arising from the nasopharyngeal epithelium. It consists of undifferentiated squamous cells in the nasopharynx. This type of epithelial cell neoplasm is globally distributed, with the highest prevalence observed in certain regions of the world. It has been known since ancient times. The incidence of NPC is steadily decreasing as data on the molecular factors involved in the pathogenesis of NPC accumulate. Glycoproteins are characterized by polymers of saccharides attached to the amino acid sequences of proteins during the process of glycosylation. They are present in all animal cells and are especially abundant on the surface of tumor cells. Alterations in expression of cellular glycoproteins have recently attracted attention as a key component of neoplastic progression. Tumor-associated glycoproteins may serve as a hallmark of cancer cells and thus represent novel diagnostic and even therapeutic targets. Interest in the role of glycoproteins in cancer in general and specifically in NPC pathology has steadily increased over the past fifty years, reaching over thousands and two hundred publications in the last five years, respectively. Here, data on a specific class of proteins, glycoproteins, involved in tumorigenesis of NPCs are summarized, with a focus on a few of the best-studied ones. Relevant studies performed mainly in the last five years were retrieved and collected through the PubMed system.