Targeted therapy for neuro-oncology: reviewing the menu.
Targeted therapy against cancer shows not only promise, but also limits. No matter how specific the target, many pathways and cell types can be affected, some unexpectedly. A tumor is heterogeneous and plastic; it can evade a targeting agent or an attack mechanism. Local regulatory factors contribute to site-specific effects. In the brain, widely disseminated tumor, including microscopic tumor; local regulatory differences and impediments to brain-wide delivery can all limit the efficacy of any single agent or approach. Provocatively, precedents for both problems and solutions are seen in the original targeted therapy, the immune response.
Lampson
Lois A
LA
Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. lampson@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents