title: Preclinical Childhood Sarcoma Models: Drug Efficacy Biomarker Identification and Validation.
abstract: Over the past 35 years, cure rates for pediatric cancers have increased dramatically. However, it is clear that further dose intensification using cytotoxic agents or radiation therapy is not possible without enhancing morbidity and long-term effects. Consequently, novel, less genotoxic, agents are being sought to complement existing treatments. Here, we discuss preclinical human tumor xenograft models of pediatric cancers that may be used practically to identify novel agents for soft tissue and bone sarcomas, and "omics" approaches to identifying biomarkers that may identify sensitive and resistant tumors to these agents.
authors.affiliation: Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Nationwide Children's Hospital , Columbus, OH , USA.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Geier
authors.affiliation: Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio , San Antonio, TX , USA.
authors.forename: Dias
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kurmashev
authors.affiliation: Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio , San Antonio, TX , USA.
authors.forename: Raushan T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Kurmasheva
authors.affiliation: Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio , San Antonio, TX , USA.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Houghton
keywords: bioinformatics; biomarkers; copy number variation; drug efficacy; drug sensitivity; expression profiling; human tumor xenografts; preclinical pharmacology