XXXX , the hedgehog pathway, and treatment options - role of smoothened inhibitors.

@entity1 @entity5 @entity1489 @entity2752 @entity1491
UNASSIGNED: @entity1491 ( @entity1491 ) is the most common @entity1 @entity5 and its incidence is rising worldwide. Ultraviolet radiation exposure, including tanning bed use, as well as host factors play a role in its development. The majority of cases are treated and cured with local therapies including surgery. Yet, the health care costs of diagnosis and treatment of BCCs in the US is substantial. In the United States, the cost of @entity1489 care in the Medicare population is estimated to be US 426 million per year. While rare, locally advanced BCCs that can no longer be controlled with surgery and/or radiation, and metastatic BCCs do occur and can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Vismodegib ( @entity2752 ), a smoothened inhibitor targeted at the hedgehog pathway, is the first US Food and Drug Association (FDA)-approved agent in the treatment of locally advanced, unresectable, and metastatic BCCs. This class of agents appears to be changing the survival rates in advanced @entity1491 @entity1 , but appropriate @entity1 selection and monitoring are important. Multidisciplinary assessments are essential for the optimal care and management of these @entity1 . For some @entity1 with locally advanced @entity1491 , treatment with a hedgehog inhibitor may eliminate the need for an excessively disfiguring or morbid surgery.
