Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 14, 2019; 25(38): 5732-5772
Published online Oct 14, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i38.5732
Role of ion channels in gastrointestinal cancer
Kyle J Anderson, Robert T Cormier, Patricia M Scott
Kyle J Anderson, Robert T Cormier, Patricia M Scott, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN 55812, United States
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper with conception and design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and final approval of the final version.
Supported by: grants from the National Cancer Institute (NIH R15CA195061A-01), Whiteside Institute for Clinical Research, Essentia Health Systems, Mezin-Koats Colorectal Cancer Foundation, Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund, and the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Scott reports grants from National Cancer Institute (NIH R15CA195061A-01), grants from Whiteside Institute for Clinical Research, grants from Essentia Health Systems, grants from Mezin-Koats Colorectal Cancer Foundation, grants from Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund, grants from University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center, during the conduct of the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Patricia M Scott, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, 1035 University Drive, Duluth, MN 55812, United States. pscott@d.umn.edu
Telephone: +1-218-726-8361 Fax: +1-218-726-8014
Received: May 5, 2019
Peer-review started: May 5, 2019
First decision: June 10, 2019
Revised: July 26, 2019
Accepted: September 27, 2019
Article in press: September 27, 2019
Published online: October 14, 2019
Processing time: 164 Days and 20.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Ion channels play an essential function in the physiology of the GI tract. There is increasing evidence that they are dysregulated at all stages of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, from early initiation to metastasis. This information provides for the use of ion channel expression as useful clinical prognostic biomarkers in GI cancer. Perhaps more importantly new therapeutic modalities targeting ion channels in the GI tract, including the potential to target their dysregulation in GI cancers are becoming increasingly feasible. This strategy includes the repurposing of existing drugs that are used to treat other ion channel pathologies, or other diseases altogether. This review seeks to provide an overview of the role of ion channels in GI cancers with an emphasis on the potential for new therapies that target them.