Wnt signaling is a highly conserved signaling pathway that plays a critical role in controlling embryonic and organ development, as well as cancer progression. Genome-wide sequencing and gene expression profile analyses have demonstrated that Wnt signaling is involved mainly in the processes of breast cancer proliferation and metastasis. The most recent studies have indicated that Wnt signaling is also crucial in breast cancer immune microenvironment regulation, stemness maintenance, therapeutic resistance, phenotype shaping, etc. Wnt/β-Catenin, Wnt–planar cell polarity (PCP), and Wnt–Ca2+ signaling are three well-established Wnt signaling pathways that share overlapping components and play different roles in breast cancer progression. In this review, we summarize the main findings concerning the relationship between Wnt signaling and breast cancer and provide an overview of existing mechanisms, challenges, and potential opportunities for advancing the therapy and diagnosis of breast cancer.

Casein kinase 1α (CK1α) is a multifunctional protein belonging to the CK1 protein family that is conserved in eukaryotes from yeast to humans. It regulates signaling pathways related to membrane trafficking, cell cycle progression, chromosome segregation, apoptosis, autophagy, cell metabolism, and differentiation in development, circadian rhythm, and the immune response as well as neurodegeneration and cancer. Given its involvement in diverse cellular, physiological, and pathological processes, CK1α is a promising therapeutic target. In this review, we summarize what is known of the biological functions of CK1α, and provide an overview of existing challenges and potential opportunities for advancing theranostics.

NEK2 has been estimated to play an important role in cancer progression. However, its relevance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not yet been explored. Immunohistochemistry revealed NEK2 expression was upregulated in HCC. NEK2-positive hepatocellular carcinoma patients were associated with poor prognosis after surgery compared with NEK2-negative patients based on Kaplan-Meier curves. Deletion of NEK2 reduced self-renewal properties and chemotherapeutic resistance, and decreased the stemness associated genes in cell lines. NEK2 was associated with unfavorable outcomes in HCC patients, and was revealed to regulate self-renewal property by means of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and chemotherapeutic resistance by preferential regulation of the expression of ABCG2 and ALDH1A1 in HCC cells.