Principles of targeted and biological therapies

Abstract

One of the characteristics of the malignant phenotype is the ability of cells to grow in an autonomous manner. Various components of the proliferative and/or survival signaling pathways can become constitutively activated or deregulated in human cancers.1 Many studies have attempted to show that a given molecular change is the key event involved in the pathogenesis of a specific cancer. Such information may not only provide a better understanding of cancer but may allow a novel target to be identified for therapeutic intervention. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.