Oxytocin receptor and tumor

Oxytocin receptor (OTR) is a member of G-protein coupled receptor, which has been found in many tumors and cancer cell lines. Many studies revealed oxytocin (OT) may inhibit the tumor and cancer cell growth and proliferation, but the mechanism of this inhibition is not wel known. Some experiments indicated cAMP-PKA system participates in the signal transduction that oxytocin inhibits the cancer cell proliferation. However, other experiments showed the signal transduction for oxytocin in the Hs578T carcinosacoma cel is the same as that in the normal cells. In this review, the relationship between OTR and tumors are summarized.