Molecularly targeted agents: their promise as cancer chemopreventive interventions

Eur J Cancer. 2005 Sep;41(13):2003-15. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2005.06.005.

Abstract

Molecular medicine has fully entered in to the oncology arena. The development of targeted therapies is one of the major ongoing efforts in cancer treatment. Targeted therapy refers to treatment strategies directed against molecular targets considered to be involved in neoplastic transformation. Such molecularly targeted agents (MTA) are currently under study in all treatment settings including that of chemoprevention, defined as the use of natural or synthetic agents to interrupt the carcinogenic process, to nip tumours in the bud. This review article aims to provide a general overview of the potential use of some of these MTA in the chemoprevention setting.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Anticarcinogenic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Apoptosis
  • Cell Communication
  • Cell Cycle
  • DNA Methylation
  • Genetic Therapy / methods
  • HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Neoplasms / prevention & control*
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
  • Proto-Oncogenes / physiology

Substances

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors
  • Anticarcinogenic Agents
  • HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins
  • Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors