Survivin is the smallest member of the inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) family. However, participation in inhibition of apoptosis is not the only function of this molecule. Survivin can also affect the proper process of mitosis and even promoting of angiogenesis or DNA repair. High levels of survivin expression are connected with foetal tissues during intrauterine development. In the overwhelming majority of healthy, differentiated adult tissues, amounts of survivin are markedly reduced. On the other hand, survivin is also often abundantly expressed in cases of various types of cancer. Generally, high expression levels of survivin are associated with a poor prognosis, an increased rate of tumour recurrence and high resistance to chemo- as well as radiotherapy, hence survivin can be considered a factor in the initiation and progression of many types of cancer with great significance and potential for cancer therapy. Nonetheless, progress in development of survivin inhibitors or primarily, in survivin-related molecular therapies, is surprisingly not very fast and indeed remains a challenge for the future. The objective of this article is to summarize known facts about survivin, its contribution to inhibition of apoptosis and cell division and its implication in the development of gynaecological tumours. At the end, known survivin inhibitors and their effect on regulation of tumour growth will be referenced.
Keywords: Apoptosis; BIRC5; Cell death; Gynaecological tumours; Survivin.
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