Advances in Nitric Oxide and Cancer is a volume that serves to give the latest research on nitric oxide (NO) and cancer. More specifically, the volume reviews significant advances in the application of NO-mediated drugs. The volume explores nitric oxide and its relationship to cancer spanning from its roles in the pathogenesis, prognosis, gene and protein modifications, regulation of resistance to cytotoxics, and therapeutic applications. With chapters written by leading experts, the volume addresses the burgeoning interest in a rapidly advancing field and provides a valuable resource to scientists who have initiated research as well as clinical investigations in their laboratories on the various roles of NO and cancer.
In recent years, increasing evidence has suggested that abnormal activation of signaling pathways is a critical event in cancer pathogenesis. In particular, activation of these pathways can lead to inappropriate cellular survival, proliferation, pluripotency, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. Thus, understanding the mechanisms by which signaling pathways become subverted in a cancer cell can provide insight into critical events in cancer pathogenesis. Furthermore, as our ability to target specific molecular interactions advances, we now have the ability to design small molecules, protein therapeutics, and other forms of targeted therapies. By focusing on the specific molecular abnormalities in a cancer cell, these agents hold the potential to be much more effective and much less toxic than current cytotoxic therapies.
One of the most exciting areas of cancer research now is the development of agents which can target signal transduction pathways that are activated inappropriately in malignant cells. The understanding of the molecular abnormalities which distinguish malignant cells from their normal counterparts has grown tremendously. This volume summarizes the current research on the role that signal transduction pathways play in the pathogenesis of cancer and how this knowledge may be used to develop the next generation of more effective and less toxic anticancer agents. Series Editor comments: "The biologic behavior of both normal and cancer cells is determined by critical signal transduction pathways. This text provides a comprehensive review of the field. Leading investigators discuss key molecules that may prove to be important diagnostic and/or therapeutic targets."
The MD Anderson Solid Tumor Oncology series presents cutting-edge surgical treatment and medical therapy for specific sites. This volume, Pancreatic Cancer, addresses epidemiology and molecular biology, inherited syndromes, staging, surgical techniques, multimodality therapy, and emerging therapies. The individual chapters focus on narrow, specific topics to produce a reference work of value to those interested in pancreatic cancer from a clinical and translational research perspective. A must-have for surgical oncologists and general surgeons.
Cancer, which has become the second-most prevalent health issue globally, is essentially a malfunction of cell signaling. Understanding how the intricate signaling networks of cells and tissues allow cancer to thrive - and how they can be turned into potent weapons against it - is the key to managing cancer in the clinic and improving the outcome of cancer therapies. In their ground-breaking textbook, the authors provide a compelling story of how cancer works on the molecular level, and how targeted therapies using kinase inhibitors and other modulators of signaling pathways can contain and eventually cure it. The first part of the book gives an introduction into the cell and molecular biology of cancer, focusing on the key mechanisms of cancer formation. The second part of the book introduces the main signaling transduction mechanisms responsible for carcinogenesis and compares their function in healthy versus cancer cells. In contrast to the complexity of its topic, the text is easy to read. 32 specially prepared teaching videos on key concepts and pathways in cancer signaling are available online for users of the print edition and have been integrated into the text in the enhanced e-book edition.
A link between inflammation and cancer has been established many years ago, yet it is only recently that the potential significance of this connection has become apparent. Although several examples of chronic inflammatory conditions, often induced by persistent irritation and/or infection, developing into cancer have been known for some time, there has been a notable resistance to contemplate the possibility that this association may apply in a causative way to other cancers. Examples for such progression from chronic inflammation to cancer are colon carcinoma developing with increased frequency in patients with ulcerative colitis, and the increased incidence of bladder cancer in patients suffering from chronic Schistosoma infection. Inflammation and cancer have been recognized to be linked in another context for many years, i.e., with regards to pathologies resembling chronic lacerations or 'wounds that do not heal.' More recently, the immunology of wound healing has given us clues as to the mechanistic link between inflammation and cancer, in as much as wounds and chronic inflammation turn off local cell-mediated immune responses and switch on growth factor release as well the growth of new blood vessels - angiogenesis. Both of these are features of most types of tumours, which suggest that tumours may require an immunologically shielded milieu and a growth factor-rich environment.
Tumor progression is driven by mutations that confer growth advantages to different subpopulations of cancer cells. As a tumor grows, these subpopulations expand, accumulate new mutations, and are subjected to selective pressures from the environment, including anticancer interventions. This process, termed clonal evolution, can lead to the emergence of therapy-resistant tumors and poses a major challenge for cancer eradication efforts. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine examines cancer progression as an evolutionary process and explores how this way of looking at cancer may lead to more effective strategies for managing and treating it. The contributors review efforts to characterize the subclonal architecture and dynamics of tumors, understand the roles of chromosomal instability, driver mutations, and mutation order, and determine how cancer cells respond to selective pressures imposed by anticancer agents, immune cells, and other components of the tumor microenvironment. They compare cancer evolution to organismal evolution and describe how ecological theories and mathematical models are being used to understand the complex dynamics between a tumor and its microenvironment during cancer progression. The authors also discuss improved methods to monitor tumor evolution (e.g., liquid biopsies) and the development of more effective strategies for managing and treating cancers (e.g., immunotherapies). This volume will therefore serve as a vital reference for all cancer biologists as well as anyone seeking to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer.
This book is devoted to innovative medicine, comprising the proceedings of the Uehara Memorial Foundation Symposium 2014. It remains extremely rare for the findings of basic research to be developed into clinical applications, and it takes a long time for the process to be achieved. The task of advancing the development of basic research into clinical reality lies with translational science, yet the field seems to struggle to find a way to move forward. To create innovative medical technology, many steps need to be taken: development and analysis of optimal animal models of human diseases, elucidation of genomic and epidemiological data, and establishment of “proof of concept”. There is also considerable demand for progress in drug research, new surgical procedures, and new clinical devices and equipment. While the original research target may be rare diseases, it is also important to apply those findings more broadly to common diseases. The book covers a wide range of topics and is organized into three complementary parts. The first part is basic research for innovative medicine, the second is translational research for innovative medicine, and the third is new technology for innovative medicine. This book helps to understand innovative medicine and to make progress in its realization.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the current limitations and unmet needs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. It also provides newly emerging concepts, approaches, and technologies to address challenges. Topics covered include changing landscape of HCC etiologies in association with health disparities, framework of clinical management algorithm, new and experimental modalities of HCC diagnosis and prognostication, multidisciplinary treatment options including rapidly evolving molecular targeted therapies and immune therapies, multi-omics molecular characterization, and clinically relevant experimental models. The book is intended to assist collaboration between the diverse disciplines and facilitate forward and reverse translation between basic and clinical research by providing a comprehensive overview of relevant areas, covering epidemiological trend and population-level patient management strategies, new diagnostic and prognostic tools, recent advances in the standard care and novel therapeutic approaches, and new concepts in pathogenesis and experimental approaches and tools, by experts and opinion leaders in their respective fields. By thoroughly and concisely covering whole aspects of HCC care, Hepatocellular Carcinoma serves as a valuable reference for multidisciplinary readers, and promotes the development of personalized precision care strategies that lead to substantial improvement of disease burden and patient prognosis in HCC.
