Cancer types

Compounds 44, 51, and 52-56 were evaluated for their antitumor activity according to NCI in vitro protocols [23]. They were assayed in vitro against three cancer types breast, lung, and central nervous system (CNS) cancers. 

Selective bioreductive alkylation in high DT-diaphorase cancer types (melanoma renal and nonsmall-cell lung cancers)15 would exhibit maximal antitumor activity with minimal side effects. 

Discuss the causes of various oncologic emergencies in relation to their underlying cancer types. 

Thus, expression of CXCR4 on tumor cells, which is common to many breast cancers as well as other cancer types, may contribute to malignant behavior in several ways. CXCR4 expression by tumor cells may interact with CXCL12 to facilitate tumor cell growth and escape from oxygen starvation-induced apoptosis and as a mechanism to home (metastasize) to secondary sites. 

Clinical trials have shown the recombinant interferons to be effective in the treatment of various cancer types, with rhIFN-a2a and -a2b both approved for treatment of hairy cell leukaemia. This is a rare B-lymphocyte neoplasm for which few effective treatments were previously available. Administration of the recombinant interferons promotes significant regression of the cancer in up to 90 per cent of patients. 

The immunostimulatory activity of IL-2 has proven beneficial in the treatment of some cancer types. An effective anti-cancer agent would prove not only medically valuable, but also commercially very successful. In the developed world, an average of one-in-six deaths is caused by cancer. In the USA alone, the annual death toll from cancer stands in the region of half a million people. 

There exists direct evidence that the immune system mounts an immune response against most cancer types. Virtually all transformed cells express (a) novel surface antigens not expressed by normal cells or (b) express, at greatly elevated levels, certain antigens present normally on the cell at extremely low levels. These normal expression levels may be so low that they have gone unnoticed by immune surveillance (and thus have not induced immunological tolerance). 

Cytotoxic T cells may play a role in inducing direct destruction of cancer cells, in particular those transformed by viral infection (and who express viral antigen on their surface). In vitro studies have shown that cytotoxic T-lymphocytes obtained from the blood of persons suffering from various cancer types are capable of destroying those cancer cells. 

Further studies have shown additional cancer types, most notably ovarian and bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin s lymphoma and acute myeloid leukaemia, to be at least partially responsive to IL-2 treatment. However, a persistent feature of clinical investigations assessing IL-2 effects on various cancer types is variability of response. Several trials have yielded conflicting results, and no reliable predictor of clinical response is available. 

Some cancer types, depending upon their cause, may display unique TSAs in different patients. 

Table 14.6 Some specific cancer types for which human gene therapy trials have been initiated3...

Cancer is one of the most devastating diseases. Even though a few cancer types are associated with a particular gender (e.g., ovarian cancer, prostate cancer), the onset usually takes place regardless of age, sex, and race. Although cancer prevention remains the ideal approach to eradicate the disease, the best second option is early detection. 

The overexpression of GSTs in some cancer cells, particularly of GST Pl-1, offers an opportunity to detect and treat some cancer types (e.g., ovarian cancer). Recent developments in the design of small molecules that either inhibit the catalytic activity of GST Pl-1 or use GST Pl-1 catalytic site to release the actual anticancer agent, have shown promising results in preclinical studies, with the graduation of 66 and 96 as potential anticancer drug candidates currently undergoing clinical trials. 

Mutation type Sample Cancer type LOH Reference... 

Cancer type Model Mutational status Activity (mg/kg/day)... 

To further assess the clinical relevance of a particular cancer target it may be necessary to determine the association of the target protein levels, its localization, and/or its activity with a specific cancer type, stage, or prognosis. This will often require the generation and, most importantly, validation of robust antibodies for immunohistochemistry (IHC) to be used on tissue microarrays (TMAs) encompassing the relevant tumor types and, ideally, matched normal samples. 

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