The ERBB network: at last, cancer therapy meets systems biology.
Although it is broadly agreed that the improved treatment of patients with cancer will depend on a deeper molecular understanding of the underlying pathogenesis, only a few examples are already available. This Timeline article focuses on the ERBB (also known as HER) network of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), which exemplifies how a constant dialogue between basic research and medical oncology can translate into both a sustained pipeline of novel drugs and ways to overcome acquired treatment resistance in patients. We track the key early discoveries that linked this RTK family to oncogenesis, the course of pioneering clinical research and their merger into a systems-biology framework that is likely to inspire further generations of effective therapeutic strategies.
Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, 1 Hertzl Street, Candiotty Building, Room 312, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Yosef.Yarden@weizmann.ac.il
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D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000379:methods; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D018739:Oncogene Proteins v-erbB / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D018739:Oncogene Proteins v-erbB; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases