The view that myosins, which are actin based molecular motors, are only driving muscle contraction evolved a lot during the last decades. Nowadays, it is known that they reshape the actin skeleton, anchor or transport vesicles, organelles as well as protein complexes. Here, we review how their role in cell division, polarization, migration and death is related to the cancer phenotype. We will further focus our attention on recent evidences suggesting that these central roles make them prime biomarker candidates for the prognosis of various cancers. Finally, we will discuss emerging evidences raising myosins as new therapeutic targets to fight malignant tumors.

肌球蛋白是基于肌动蛋白的分子马达，仅驱动肌肉收缩的观点在过去几十年中得到了很大发展。如今，众所周知，它们可以重塑肌动蛋白骨架、锚定或运输囊泡、细胞器以及蛋白质复合物。在这里，我们回顾了它们在细胞分裂、极化、迁移和死亡中的作用如何与癌症表型相关。我们将进一步关注最近的证据，这些证据表明这些核心作用使它们成为各种癌症预后的主要生物标志物候选者。最后，我们将讨论将肌球蛋白作为抗击恶性肿瘤的新治疗靶点的新证据。