Stratifying cancer therapies by molecular interactions and imaging

Abstract

Accumulated knowledge generated by years of fundamental research and more recently the implementation of high-throughput sequencing analysis and genomic technologies have led to the identification of novel molecular events that are critical oncogenic drivers amenable to targeted therapy. As a result, in the past decade, we have observed the introduction of molecularly targeted therapies for the treatment of cancers within clinical trials that have then subsequently gained approval for use in routine clinical practice. Some of these agents have demonstrated dramatic efficacies, not previously observed in the treatment of metastatic cancers, such as malignant melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer and breast cancer.