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Introduction
Published in Trevor F. Cox, Medical Statistics for Cancer Studies, 2022
Much cancer research is carried out in laboratories and is part of translational medicine, or translational research – “from bench to bedside”, where research in the laboratory helps develop new treatments for patients. Biological, chemical and pharmacological research is needed in the process. A promising new treatment then moves into the clinical trial stage. Other laboratory research involves measurements (biomarkers) made using samples of tissue and blood, e.g. amounts of particular proteins, and genetic factors. Biomarker studies look for biomarkers that can help with diagnosis of cancers and a patient's prognosis. Chapter 9 gives some examples. Tailoring treatments to the patient, based on biomarkers, is in the realms of personalised medicine.
The Evolution of Anticancer Therapies
Published in David E. Thurston, Ilona Pysz, Chemistry and Pharmacology of Anticancer Drugs, 2021
Cancer research is funded not only by large pharmaceutical companies and smaller biotechnology companies but also by sources such as government agencies, charitable organizations, trusts, and wealthy individuals (i.e., philanthropists). Some observers argue that, given the first discoveries in chemotherapy were made approximately 80 years ago with the discovery of the nitrogen mustards, the current relative lack of curative (or even highly efficacious) drugs and therapeutic strategies is a reflection of the complexities of the disease and a shortage of ideas for novel agents and therapies rather than a lack of funding for research. Considering the resources that have been channeled into cancer research worldwide since President Nixon declared his famous “War on Cancer” in 1971, the current lack of highly effective drugs and therapies would tend to support this view. However, the discovery of imatinib (GleevecTM) and trastuzumab (HerceptinTM) in the 1990s as the first targeted agents with a patient selection approach (i.e., a Precision Medicine strategy) provided both the industrial and academic cancer research communities with a fresh impetus and enthusiasm for developing new types of so-called molecularly targeted agents (see Chapter 6) and immuno-oncology agents (see Chapters 7 and 9). This enthusiasm was spurred on by new and exciting developments in molecular biology such as the Human Genome Project, DNA arrays, and proteomics, which have already allowed many novel biological targets to be identified.
Nanomaterials for Theranostics: Recent Advances and Future Challenges *
Published in Valerio Voliani, Nanomaterials and Neoplasms, 2021
Eun-Kyung Lim, Taekhoon Kim, Soonmyung Paik, Seungjoo Haam, Yong-Min Huh, Kwangyeol Lee
Cancer research has undergone a great paradigm shift in the past few decades [20]. Cancer is no longer viewed from a reductionist point [20], where the focus is only on cancer cells and genes they contain. As beautifully outlined by Prof. Robert A. Weinberg [29, 30], cancer cells interact with a complex mixture of surrounding immune cells, endothelial cells, neovasculature, and fibroblasts. Furthermore, cancer can acquire various survival strategies such as self-sufficiency in growth signals, evasion of apoptosis, development of insensitivity to antigrowth signals, sustained angiogenesis, metastasis, and unlimited replication, which are considered the six hallmarks of cancer [29, 30]. This list of hallmarks was recently further extended to include two additional hallmarks, i.e., deregulation of cellular energetics and escape from immune destruction [31–34]. Cancer also exhibits the enabling characteristics of genome instability and mutation and tumor-promoting inflammation [31–34].
The role of key gut microbial metabolites in the development and treatment of cancer
Published in Gut Microbes, 2022
Kayla Jaye, Chun Guang Li, Dennis Chang, Deep Jyoti Bhuyan
Over the past decade, the gut microbiome has been extensively investigated in the context of the maintenance of human health. Gut microbiota has been observed to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with the host through modulation of gut homeostasis and the preservation of the epithelial barrier which are crucial for gut immunity 1. These microorganisms are important in the normal physiological function and structure of the host innate immune system, which has a number of implications on gut health.2 Emerging evidence has indicated that in addition to gut microbiota and their structural components, the myriad of metabolites produced by gut microbial communities also influence the host physiology and health by acting as signalling molecules and substrates for metabolic reactions.3 Our recent review has underlined the pivotal role of gut microbiota in the prevention, therapy and clinical outcome of the five most prevalent cancers while emphasising the direct and indirect impacts of gut microbial metabolites on tumours.4 Several studies in the literature have also demonstrated the potential effect of gut microbial metabolites in different diseases including cancer. This review provides a critical summary and assessment of the current studies performed to understand the role of the key gut microbial metabolites in cancer development, prevention, and treatment. This review also proposes several potential future directions in this emerging area of cancer research.
Women’s embodied experiences of using wearable digital self-tracking health technology: A review of the qualitative research literature
Published in Health Care for Women International, 2022
Lilliana Del Busso, Gudrun Brottveit, Stine Torp Løkkeberg, Grete Gluppe
Eight of the thirteen papers reviewed included only female participants, and five papers included both female and male participants. The female participants ranged from 20 to 85 years of age. Two studies were conducted in the field of medicine, specifically cancer research (Hardcastle et al., 2018; Nguyen et al., 2017). One study was conducted within the field of consumer research (Ruckenstein, 2014), and three papers presented studies that were conducted in the field of leisure research (Maxwell et al., 2019; Esmond, 2019a, 2019b). Furthermore, seven papers presented studies conducted in health research, including women’s health (Lupton, 2019a, 2019b; Lupton & Maslen, 2018; 2019), physical rehabilitation (Schwennesen, 2017), sport and exercise (McCormack et al., 2019) and elderly health (Urban, 2017). The studies represent an international field of research, excluding the Asian and African continents. As such, the papers included studies conducted in Australia (Hardcastle et al., 2018; Lupton, 2019a, 2019b; Lupton & Maslen, 2018; 2019; Maxwell et al., 2019; Nguyen et al., 2017), USA (Esmonde, 2019a, 2019b), Canada (McCormack et al., 2019), Denmark (Schwennesen, 2017), Finland (Ruckenstein, 2014) and Germany (Urban, 2017).
Approaches for Head and Neck Cancer Research – Current Status and the Way Forward
Published in Cancer Investigation, 2022
Barghavi V., Arokia Femina T., DivyaSowrirajan Iyengar, Archana K., Maddaly Ravi
Cancers remain one of the major human health care challenges due to their complex etiology, manifestations and other physiological aspects. Cancer research continues to be a priority globally and a variety of approaches are being pursued to address this challenge. Of the various human cancer types, there is an alarming increase in head and neck cancers (HNCs) across the globe. In 2016, HNCs were positioned as the ninth most common type of cancer (1), and in 2018, they were ranked seventh most common malignancy worldwide (2). There is a constant increase in the global burden of HNCs and it is estimated that these cancer types will result in 13 million cancer deaths by the year 2030 (3,4). There is a clear racial and geographical association with HNCs pattern and occurrence (2) with a marked impact on socioeconomic development (5). Among the sites associated with HNCs, the greatest number of cancers appear at the lip/oral cavity site. Also, cancers at this site had contributed to the greatest number of mortalities among both males and females (6). The number of new cases and mortalities as caused by HNCs for the year 2020 along with the comparative numbers among males and females are presented in Figure 1. Excessive use of tobacco, areca nut, betel leaf and alcohol consumption has been identified as the primary causes of head and neck cancers in low and middle-income countries (7).