
Nitric Oxide And Cancer
2550-2559
Correspondence
Dr. Kiran Dahiya, 778/28,Bharat Colony, Rohtak,Haryana, (India). PIN: 124001.Mobile: +919896111985,Email: kirandahiya_2002@yahoo.com
Nitric oxide (NO) is a pleiotropic biological mediator which plays a key role in various physiological and pathological processes. It is synthesized with the help of the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which has three isoforms. All these isoforms of NOS have been reported to be involved in promoting or inhibiting the aetiology of cancer. High levels of NOS expression in tumour cells may be cytostatic or cytotoxic, while low levels can have the opposite effect and may promote tumour growth. NO also has diverse effects in cancer treatment. It can enhance the cytotoxic efficacy of some chemotherapeutic agents as well as radiation. The modification of NOS activity in tumours can be considered to be a promising mean for selective tumour blood flow modification, thus providing a novel approach for reducing tumour oxygenation which is aimed at enhancing the efficiency of hypoxia- mediated, bioreductively activated modalities for cancer treatment.