Current Cancer Therapy Reviews - Volume 2, Issue 2, 2006

HTLV-1 is etiologically implicated with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1 associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). Neither of them is curable by presently known therapy. Therefore, both disorders are waiting for novel therapeutic approaches. Developing such approaches requires comprehensive insight into the viral and cellular factors involved in the genesis of these diseases. It is widely accep Read More

Resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic agents and to radiation is one of the major obstacles in the treatment of human cancers. The exact mechanism by which cells develop resistance to chemotherapeutic and radiotherapeutic agents is not well understood. Accumulating evidences over the last decade suggests however that transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κ B) may play an important role in both che Read More

Modification of chromatin without actually altering its nucleotide sequence is termed epigenetic modification. These modifications include changes in methylation, acetylation and phosphorylation levels of histones as well as methylation of CpG islands in DNA. Besides these covalent modifications, ATP-dependent alterations of chromatin topology also represent another level of chromatin remodeling. All these change Read More

There is a wide variation in cancer incidence in humans, which, in part, has been attributed to metabolic factors of carcinogens and genetic polymorphisms in drug metabolising enzymes and drug transporters. Drug metabolising enzymes are responsible for the initial activation of many (pro)carcinogens, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), to biologically reactive metabolites. Besides, detoxifying enzymes ar Read More

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system involves a complex network of ligands (IGF-I and IGF-II), receptors (IGF-1R and IGF-2R), IGF-binding proteins (IGFBP-1 to IGFBP-6), and downstream intracellular signaling elements. The IGF-axis modulates proliferation and (anti-)apoptosis in mammals, and it is therefore not surprising that dysregulation of different pathway components is involved in the development and prog Read More

Melphalan in combination with glucocorticoid steroids has been an important first-line treatment option for multiple myeloma (MM) for over 40 years, but response rates have been only 50-60%, with less than 5% complete remissions (CRs). More intensive combinations of chemotherapy such as vincristine, Adriamycin and Dexamethasone (Dex) (VAD) improved objective response rates to 40%-70%, with 10-17% complete Read More

Cancer costs the life of over 6 M human beings from around the world every year. More than 1.3 million new cases are predicted to be diagnosed only in the USA during 2005 with over 570,000 deaths estimated. A better understanding of the molecular basis of carcinogenesis has facilitated progress towards improving early detection and prevention as well as the development of more efficient and specific treatments against Read More