Targeted Therapies in Cancer: Myth or Reality?

In September 2005 an International Meeting on “Targeted Therapies in Cancer: Myth or Reality” was held in Milan. This successful Meeting was intended to represent a forum for scientists and clinicians working in cancer drug discovery and therapy to share their reflections and experiences on how the paradigm shift from empiricism to molecular targeted therapies is contributing to the translation of basic knowledge into new therapies for cancer patients. This book collects the contributions given by scientists and clinicians, from Academia and Industry, who participated to this Meeting.

We hope that this book contributes to improve our approach to cancer drug discovery and, ultimately, to find new, more efficacious and better tolerated drugs for cancer patients. It provides an overview of diverse approaches ranging from drug discovery to cellular therapy. Although this change in paradigm has been useful, its entry into the clinical arena was associates with unforeseen problems including the emergence of resistance, unexpected side effects and failures. Time is therefore ripe for a critical cultural reflection on the state of the art, prospects and limitations. Ultimately, is targeted therapy in cancer a myth or a reality?

Causality in Medicine.- The Evolution of the Biomedical Paradigm in Oncology: Implications for Cancer Therapy.- Anticancer Drug Discovery and Development.- Beyond VEGF: Targeting Tumor Growth and Angiogenesis via Alternative Mechanisms.- Aurora Kinases and Their Inhibitors: More Than One Target and One Drug.- Signalling Pathways and Adhesion Molecules as Targets for Antiangiogenesis Therapy in Tumors.- Developing T-Cell Therapies for Cancer in an Academic Setting.- Anticancer Cell Therapy with TRAIL-Armed CD34+ Progenitor Cells.- Linking Inflammation Reactions to Cancer: Novel Targets for Therapeutic Strategies.- Clinical Development of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: What Lessons Have We Learned?.- GIST As the Model of Paradigm Shift Towards Targeted Therapy of Solid Tumors: Update and Perspective on Trial Design.- Monoclonal Antibodies in the Treatment of Malignant Lymphomas.- Molecular Network Analysis using Reverse Phase Protein Microarrays for Patient Tailored Therapy.