Studies utilizing experimental animals, epidemiological approaches, cellular models, and clinical trials all provide evidence that retinoic acid and some of its synthetic derivatives (retinoids) are useful pharmacological agents in cancer therapy and prevention. In this chapter, we first review the current knowledge of retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and their role in mediating the actions of retinoic acid. We then focus on a discussion of RARalpha and acute promyelocytic leukemia followed by a discussion of the role of RARs, in particular RARbeta expression, in other cancer types. Loss of normal RAR function in the presence of physiological levels of RA (either due to alterations in the protein structure or level of expression) is associated with a variety of different cancers. In some cases treatment with pharmacological doses of RA can be effective.

中文翻译：

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维甲酸受体和癌症。

利用实验动物，流行病学方法，细胞模型和临床试验进行的研究均提供了证据，证明视黄酸及其某些合成衍生物（类维生素A）在癌症治疗和预防中是有用的药理作用。在本章中，我们首先回顾视黄酸受体（RAR）的当前知识及其在介导视黄酸作用中的作用。然后，我们集中讨论RARalpha和急性早幼粒细胞白血病，然后讨论RAR，尤其是RARbeta表达在其他癌症类型中的作用。在存在生理水平的RA（由于蛋白质结构或表达水平的改变）的情况下，正常RAR功能的丧失与多种不同的癌症有关。