What's wrong with our cancer models?
Oncology, as a therapeutic area, is characterized by a desperate medical need for new drugs; the use of drugs that kill cells and which are consequently often toxic; and rates of failure in expensive Phase III trials that eclipse many other disease areas. The poor performance of most investigational cancer drugs implies that the standard preclinical disease models are faulty or, at least, improperly used. Some studies, however, support the view that cancer models can be highly effective, but only when selected and interpreted with care.
Kamb
Alexander
A
Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. Alexander.Kamb@novartis.com
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017321:Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic / Q000191:economics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy; D017211:Treatment Failure
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents