title: New concepts in the treatment of acute myeloid malignancies: selected pathways for targeted therapy.
abstract: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplasia (MDS) continue to present formidable treatment challenges as there is not yet a "standard approach" that reliably and safely cures the majority of adults with these disorders. Understanding the basic cellular and molecular biology of leukemia is vital to the development of better treatment approaches. All malignant cells, including leukemias, carry survival advantages compared to their normal counterparts. These survival advantages are particularly evident when the cells face both normal environmental stressors as well as extreme stressors of potentially lethal DNA damage. The impact of such stressors is ultimately determined by the signaling pathways and resultant cellular activation, including alterations in cellular growth, differentiation, survival and death. It is our improving understanding of these signaling pathways, both normal and malignant, that provide the targets for novel therapies. In this review article, we will focus on several signaling pathways, as well as the regulation of the cell cycle, that not only represent potentially accessible sites for intervention in myeloid malignancies, but those that are actively being studied.
authors.affiliation: Hematologic Malignancies, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, USA.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Karp
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000068258:Bevacizumab; D002227:Carbazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002453:Cell Cycle; D016923:Cell Death; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002470:Cell Survival; D004249:DNA Damage; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005663:Furans; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000628:therapy*; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000628:therapy*; D010880:Piperidines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015363:Quinolones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D015398:Signal Transduction; D019311:Staurosporine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D002227:Carbazoles; D005419:Flavonoids; D005663:Furans; D007211:Indoles; D010880:Piperidines; D015363:Quinolones; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D000068258:Bevacizumab; C077990:alvocidib; C119379:lestaurtinib; D019311:Staurosporine; C059539:midostaurin; C402769:tipifarnib