Molecular Biology of Cancer Mechanisms, Targets, and Therapeutics

by Pecorino, Lauren

• ISBN13: 9780199211487
• ISBN10: 0199211485
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-05-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Molecular Biology of Cancer: Mechanisms, Targets, and Therapeutics presents a fresh approach to the study of the molecular basis of cancer. Shows how an understanding of the molecular processes underpinning cancer can be directly applied to the development of new therapeutics, giving students a clear appreciation of how the theory translates to tackling the disease, Provides a carefully structured overview of the molecular mechanisms that regulate cell growth, and relates defects in these mechanisms to the onset of cancer, so that students can clearly see the link between the two, Draws on the latest research in this dynamic field and presents it with a unique clarity, making cutting-edge science readily accessible to students. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Dr Lauren Pecorino is a senior lecturer and Biochemistry Programme Leader at the University of Greenwich, UK.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
What is cancer?	p. 2
Evidence suggests that cancer is a genetic disease at the cellular level	p. 4
Influential factors in human carcinogenesis	p. 9
Principles of conventional cancer therapies	p. 12
Clinical trials	p. 14
The role of molecular targets in cancer therapies	p. 15
DNA structure and stability: mutations versus repair	p. 21
Gene structure-two parts of a gene: the regulatory region and the coding region	p. 22
Mutations	p. 23
Carcinogenic agents	p. 24
DNA repair and predispositions to cancer	p. 36
Therapeutic strategies	p. 39
Conventional therapies: chemotherapy and radiation therapy	p. 39
Regulation of gene expression	p. 47
Transcription factors and transcriptional regulation	p. 47
Chromatin structure	p. 54
Epigenetic regulation of transcription	p. 55
Evidence of a role for epigenetics in carcinogenesis	p. 58
Telomeres and telomerase	p. 60
Therapeutic strategies	p. 64
Epigenomic and histonomic drugs	p. 64
Telomerase inhibitors	p. 65
Growth factor signaling and oncogenes	p. 69
Epidermal growth factor signaling: an important paradigm	p. 70
Oncogenes	p. 78
Therapeutic strategies	p. 86
Kinase inhibitors	p. 87
RAS-directed therapies	p. 91
The cell cycle	p. 95
Cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks)	p. 96
Mechanisms of cdk regulation	p. 99
Progression through the G[subscript 1] checkpoint	p. 101
The G[subscript 2] checkpoint	p. 103
The mitotic checkpoint	p. 104
The cell cycle and cancer	p. 106
Therapeutic strategies	p. 108
Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors	p. 109
Other cell cycle kinase targets	p. 109
Inhibitors of the mitotic spindle	p. 110
Growth inhibition and tumor suppressor genes	p. 113
Definitions of tumor suppressor genes	p. 113
The retinoblastoma gene	p. 117
Mutations in the RB pathway and cancer	p. 118
The p53 pathway	p. 119
Mutations in the p53 pathway and cancer	p. 127
Interaction of DNA viral protein products with RB and p53	p. 129
Therapeutic strategies	p. 130
Targeting of the p53 pathway	p. 130
Apoptosis	p. 137
Molecular mechanisms of apoptosis	p. 139
Apoptosis and cancer	p. 148
Apoptosis and chemotherapy	p. 152
Therapeutic strategies	p. 154
Apoptotic drugs	p. 154
Stem cells and differentiation	p. 161
Stem cells and cancer	p. 162
Differentiation and the regulation of transcription	p. 171
Therapeutic strategies	p. 176
Inhibitors of the Wnt pathway	p. 177
Inhibitors of the Hh pathway	p. 178
Leukemia and differentiation therapies	p. 180
Metastasis	p. 185
Steps of metastasis	p. 186
Tools of cell migration: cell adhesion molecules, integrins, and proteases	p. 186
Intravasation	p. 189
Transport	p. 191
Extravasation	p. 191
Metastatic colonization	p. 192
The angiogenic switch	p. 194
Parallels between early development and metastasis	p. 199
Other means of tumor neovascularization	p. 200
Therapeutic strategies	p. 201
Metalloproteinase inhibitors (MPIs)	p. 201
Anti-angiogenic therapy and vascular targeting	p. 202
Targeting several steps of metastasis at once	p. 207
Infections and inflammation	p. 211
Identifying infectious agents as carcinogens	p. 212
Inflammation and cancer	p. 217
Therapeutic strategies	p. 223
A national vaccination program against Hepatitis B virus in Taiwan	p. 224
Eradication of H. pylori and the relationship to prevention of gastric cancer	p. 225
Cancer vaccines to prevent cervical cancer	p. 225
Inhibition of inflammation	p. 227
Nutrients, hormones, and gene interactions	p. 231
Causative factors	p. 233
Preventative factors: microconstituents of fruits and vegetables	p. 237
Metabolic changes in tumor cells	p. 242
Genetic polymorphisms and diet	p. 244
Vitamin D: a link between nutrients and hormone action	p. 245
Hormones and cancer	p. 247
Therapeutic strategies	p. 251
'Enhanced' foods and dietary supplements for chemoprevention	p. 251
Drugs that target energy pathways	p. 252
Drugs that target estrogen	p. 252
The cancer industry: drug development and clinical trial design	p. 259
Strategies of drug development	p. 259
Development of imatinib	p. 263
Second-generation therapeutics	p. 265
Pharmacogenomics	p. 266
Improved clinical trial design	p. 267
A career in cancer research	p. 270
Cancer in the future: focus on diagnostics and immunotherapy	p. 275
Cancer vaccines	p. 276
Microarrays and expression profiling	p. 283
Diagnostics and prognostics	p. 285
Imaging	p. 287
Cancer research bioinformatics	p. 288
Cancer nanotechnology	p. 289
Treating cancer symptoms	p. 291
Are we making progress?	p. 291
Cell Cycle Regulation	p. 297
Centers for Cancer Research	p. 298
Glossary	p. 302
Index	p. 311
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