Hyaluronan: Towards novel anti-cancer therapeutics

This review surveys recent data on hyaluronan biosynthesis, metabolism, and interactions with its binding proteins called hyaladherins (CD44, RHAMM), providing themolecular background underlying its differentiated biological activity. In particular, the article critically presents current ideas on actual role of hyaluronan in cancer. The paper additionally maps a path towards promising novel anti-cancer therapeutics which target hyaluronan metabolic enzymes and hyaladherins, and constitute hyaluronan-based drug delivery systems.