[Problems of tumor progression: doubts or hopes at the turn of the Millennium?].
After major developments in the diagnosis and therapy of the primary cancer, at the turn of the century clinical oncology is still facing the major challenge: management of the disseminated disease. Cancer biology provided basic information on the genetic and biochemical background of the process, however, it turned out that the individual tumor types use a wide range of mechanisms for invasion and metastasis. Recent major discoveries concerning invasion are identification of the invasion organelle (invadopodia) and identification of certain molecular mechanisms leading to organ-selective metastatization. Prognostic pathology emerged as a new diagnostic field, specialized in predicting the metastatic behavior of the tumor based on the geno- and phenotype of the primary tumor. Ultimately, the first drugs which were designed on the principles of tumor progression entered clinical trials (angiogenesis- and MMP-inhibitors) indicating a slow but steady transfer of cancer biology knowledge to clinical oncology predicting a significant development in the management of disseminated cancer patients.
Tímár
J
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Tumor Progressziós Osztály, Országos Onkológiai Intézet, Budapest.
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D018450:Disease Progression; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating; D011379:Prognosis
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015507:Drugs, Investigational