This book discusses the aspects of haploidentical transplants and will shed light on the debates and questions on this burgeoning field and timely topic. Donor selection, graft failure, minimal CD34+ cell requirement, and conditioning regimens used for haploidentical transplants will be written by expert authors dealing with this type of transplants. Approximately one third of the books' chapters cover logic and basic aspects; the remaining two thirds of the book discuss clinical aspects, outcomes, and future perspectives, thus providing a comphrensive discussion of the topic. Haploidentical transplantation is extremely timely, rapidly-changing area and increasing its use will decrease the need for time-consuming, expensive, unrelated donor search. Moreover, Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation brings a set of clear answers to questions of feasibility, advantages over unrelated transplants, cost effectivity and outcome..

The emotional pressures on cancer patients and their families are increasing and traditional supports are decreasing. This book attempts to provide a readable, authoritative and balanced review of the emotional pressures and coping methods of cancer patients, and the help currently available to them. The special problems of children and terminal patients with cancer, and the role of the family in coping, are also examined. A balanced and critical assessment is made of defects in health organisation, training of personnel and attitudes to cancer patients in Western society. A similar assessment is made of the growing tendency to self help, mutual help and group activities for such patients. While each individual needs to select coping aids best suited to his or her own temperament, medical advisors need to make more time available for discussion of technical, emotional, social and sexual problems. The availability of a cancer-treating "team" makes this feasible. Chapters were invited from physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and sociologists expert in this field, and they have responsed to the challenge of writing in non-technical language. This is so that readership can cross disciplinary boundaries and thus stimulate physicians, nurses, psychologists, sociologists, clergy and others, to satisfy some of the currently unmet needs of cancer patients. The reader may note a small amount of overlap between some chapters, permitted in order to maintain continuity and make each chapter complete in itself.

In this issue of Hematology/Oncology Clinics, guest editor Dr. Harold J. Burstein brings his considerable expertise to Breast Cancer. Top experts provide a comprehensive update on multidisciplinary management of early- and late-stage breast cancer, including key topics such as global perspectives on the epidemiology and treatment of breast cancer; breast cancer pathology in the era of genomics; optimizing radiation therapy after breast conserving surgery; and more. Contains 16 relevant, practice-oriented topics including disparities in breast cancer outcomes and how to resolve them; genetic testing in breast cancer; the role of ovarian suppression in early stage premenopausal breast cancer; multidisciplinary management of brain metastases from breast cancer; evidence-based guidance for breast cancer survivorship; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on breast cancer, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

Andrew Arnold The past several years have been a time of intense excitement and have brought major advances in the understanding and treatment of endocrine neoplasms. This is therefore an excellent point at which to undertake a broad based overview of the state of the art in endocrine neoplasia for the Cancer Treatment and Research series. Because of the wide and interdisciplinary readership of this series, our aim for each chapter has been to provide ample background for those not highly familiar with the topic, while emphasizing the most recent advances. Furthermore, the chapters have been written with the clinician in mind, whether she or he is an oncologist, endocrinologist, surgeon, generalist, pathologist, or radiologist. As such, the authors' mission has been to focus on clinically relevant issues and to present the scientific basis of current or potential future advances in a manner easily digestible to the nonexpert. Endocrine tumors often cause problems for the patient by virtue of their hormonal activity, which may frequently (but certainly not always) over shadow the adverse consequences related to their mass per se. In fact, it is important to keep in mind that endocrine tumors can manifest two biologically separable but often intertwined properties, namely, increased cell mass and abnormal hormonal function. These need not go hand in hand, and their distinction has definite clinical relevance in, for example, the increasingly recognized problem of incidentally discovered adrenal or pituitary masses."

Cell growth, one of the most fundamental of biological processes, has long been among the least understood. On April 24-28, 1984 sci- entists convened from around the world in Canada's Banff National Park for The International Cell Cycle Society's 10th Conference. Their purpose was to evaluate recent developments in the field of cell prolif- eration and to explore the interrelationship between cell growth, de- velopment, and differentiation, and proliferative diseases such as can- cer. Growth, Cancer, and the Cell Cycle collects those conference papers that present the most recent advances in this field. The first section of the book is Gene Expression and Development During Growth. It examines the structure and function of chromatin, DNA unwinding proteins, and nonhistone nuclear proteins, then ex- plores transcriptional, translational, and post-translational regulation during the cell cycle and the interrelationship and coordinate regula- tion of cell growth, differentiation, and gene expression. The second section, Growth Activation and Dormancy, focuses upon the events that occur during the transition between active cell growth and proliferative quiescence. The role of DNA strand breaks, protein kinase activity, growth regulatory factors, and the cytoskeleton are examined. Section three discusses The Topology of the Cell Cycle. It reviews genetic approaches for determining the sequence of events and cau- sality relationships that comprise and coordinate the many separate processes involved in cell cycle progression and describes the use of multipara meter flow cytometry to characterize the mammalian cell cy- cle and intracellular metabolic and transitional growth states.

When the first edition of this book published in 1994, the psychoimmunology of cancer was still emerging as a topic for serious scientific study. Now, less than ten years later, there is a huge quantity of academic literature about the relationships between psychological variables, the immune system and cancer growth, accompanied by a lively popular interest.

In this new edition leading specialists have provided broad critical reviews of the different aspects. Part I, which presents the biological background, will be of particular interest to those with technical knowledge of the relevant laboratory based disciplines. It covers mechanisms mediating the effects of psychological status in the immune system, and anti-cancer mechanisms involving the immune system. Part II is clinically orientated, and accessible to a wide audience. Whether psychotherapeutic interventions can help patients live longer, as well as coping better, is obviously the key question and several contributors consider the clinical evidence for this. A new, speculative chapter on the spiritual context of immunity and cancer has also been added.

The psychoimmunology of cancer involves many complex issues, understanding of which remains far from complete. However, the contributors, besides reviewing the current state of knowledge and the implications for cancer patients, offer predictions for the future and ideas about further research.

From reviews of the first edition:

'The chief quality of this book is its presentation of an excellent but critical overview of the entire range of what is today called 'psychoimmunology', and it is to be recommended to all who are interested in the subject.' Annals of Oncology

The first edition of Oncogenes (1989) focused on several of the better known transforming mechanisms and surveyed a spectrum of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Several of the nearly 50 known oncogenes most relevant to human disease were examined. In contrast, this volume presents a very different profile and balance of subject material that reflects the rapidly changing field of molecular oncology and its newly emerging concepts. Among the most important discoveries of the past 4 years are the identification of nearly a dozen different tumor suppressor genes and the finding of an entirely new class of cancer-causing gene (bcl-2) that acts by inhibiting cell death rather than stimulating cell proliferation. This edition begins by reviewing selected malignancies in which our earlier search for clinically relevant oncogenes has led to more focused studies on gain-of-function and loss-of-function genetic abnormalities, as well as autocrine and paracrine growth factor loops known to regulate tumor physiology and malignant cell behavior. Curiously, many of these genetic and functional abnormalities are shared by several different tumor types and are not uniformly present in all tumors of the same type. This observation brings up molecular questions about the tissue-specific determinants that underlie individual cancers and also gives added impetus to the suggestion that molecular abnormalities (referred to as tumor markers) be included among the histopathologic features used for clinical diagnosis and manage ment."

In recent years there have been various discoveries connecting inflammation and lung cancer and clearly there is growing interest in this area of cancer research. The link between unresolved inflammation and cancer has been well established with estimates that 15% of cancer deaths are inflammation-related. Evidence for this link includes the following: a) some inflammatory diseases are associated with increased risk of cancer development; b) inflammatory mediators are present surrounding and within most tumors; c) overexpression of inflammatory cytokines increases cancer development and progression in murine studies; d) inhibition of inflammatory mediators decreases cancer development and progression; and e) the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has been found to decrease cancer incidence and delay progression. The volume will present aspects of the inflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME), its many roles in tumor progression and metastasis, including creation of a hypoxic environment, increased angiogenesis and invasion, changes in expression of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) and an increase in a stem cell phenotype. The book will also cover the mechanisms of inflammatory mediators. Chronic overexpression of inflammatory mediators in the TME, as seen in smokers and patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), can also lead to increased tumor initiation, progression, invasion and metastasis. The volume will provide a comprehensive perspective of the latest findings and summaries of progress made regarding inflammation and its connection to lung cancer.

Exciting new developments and discoveries of the last two decades are beginning to shed light on the complex biology of brain tumors and are advancing our understa- ing of the cellular and molecular processes involved in their initiation, progression, and clinical and biological behavior. The disease process in brain tumors is quite complex and the resulting tumors are characterized by a high degree of biological and clinical diversity. Thus, despite the advances of the last two decades, prognosis for patients with malignant brain tumors remains abysmal. Significant progress in the diagnosis, treatment and, ultimately, prevention of these tumors will require both the timely h- nessing of the advances in basic and clinical brain tumor research, and a continuing concerted effort at increasing our understanding of brain tumor biology, in particular, the molecular genetic changes and perturbations of cellular pathways involved in brain oncogenesis and which drive the biological and clinical behavior of the tumors. Brain tumor diagnosis and prognosis, which is still largely based on histopathology and other clinical criteria, will, in the future, acquire a significant molecular component, with the incorporation of knowledge of genes that are mutated, over-expressed, deleted, silenced, or functionally altered in the tumors. Treatment strategies for brain tumors, rather than being empirical, will be rationally developed based on an understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms and targets that have been activated, suppressed, or otherwise altered.

Focused on the discovery of precise molecular targets for the development of the cancer preventive agents, "Cancer Prevention: Dietary Factors and Pharmacology" provides researchers and non-researchers with practical methodologies for developing and validating small molecule and phytochemical-derived drug discovery and mechanisms by which these compounds can modulate distinct target proteins involved in oncogenic signaling. While this volume is primarily focused toward cancer prevention research, the range of techniques demonstrated in the book also provides an introduction of cancer prevention research methods to researchers outside the field. Chapters deal with a critical discussion of both laboratory and clinical topics, with each chapter containing both a discursive section along with a detailed methods section. As part of the "Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology" series, this meticulous volume includes the kind of key implementation advice that seeks to ensure successful results in the lab.

Practical and authoritative, "Cancer Prevention: Dietary Factors and Pharmacology" aims to guide research toward identifying molecular targets and conducting human studies with phytochemicals which would, ideally, provide an enhanced approach to the goal of personalized cancer prevention.

Prostate Cancer provides an up-to-date review of the biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetic changes in prostate cells that are the driving forces in the initiation and progression of cancer. It includes an overview by experts in the field of cell-cell interactions, including stem cells, reactive Stromal cells and membrane lipid rafts that are instrumental in the initiation and progression of prostate cancer.

In Breast Cancer Chemosensitivity, a group of world leading experts review critical aspects of resistance to systemic therapy in breast cancer patients. Beginning with a clinical overview of the problem, the book then focuses on the latest findings of molecular mechanisms of drug resistance. Coverage provides an example of using novel approaches for chemosensitization of breast cancer cells that gives readers an idea about the future direction in breast cancer treatment. It allows those who are interested in breast cancer therapy to get a jump-start on critical issues in breast cancer therapeutic resistance.

In the United States alone, the incidence of new cases of thoracic neoplasms is over 180,000. Each year, over 170,000 individuals are expected to die of their cancer. Lung cancer is the most common of the thoracic neoplasms. It is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, accounting for 28% of all cancer deaths in the United States. Thoracic Oncology provides an up-to-date and concise review of the various thoracic neoplasms and offers a better understanding of the biology, natural history, diagnosis and treatment of these malignancies. This book will be of particular interest to clinicians interested in thoracic neoplasms, to better understand and treat them.

Endocytosis and vesicular trafficking determine the landscape of the cell's exterior, namely the density of surface molecules, such as receptors for growth factors and cytokines, adhesion molecules like integrins and cadherins, and a plethora of nutrient carriers. Hence, endocytosis is involved in signal transduction, cell adhesion and migration, as well as metabolism. To exploit these fundamental processes, malignancies subtly and multiply manipulate the endocytosis and the subsequent trafficking of protein cargoes. This is achieved by simultaneously altering the cytoskeleton, vesicle budding, cargo sorting and intracellular degradation. By highlighting the underlying molecular processes and concentrating on specific examples, this book reviews the recent emergence of derailed endocytosis and vesicular trafficking as a landmark of cancer. In-depth understanding of this common feature of tumors might lead the way to drug-induced strategies, able to rectify intracellular trafficking in cancer.

Cancer Genetics is a collection of chapters covering the key recent developments in cancer genetics which have an impact on clinical care. The target audience will be physicians and scientists who need to be apprised on the most recent developments in the field.

This series of books, devoted to aspects of blood cell biochemistry, development, immu nology, and ultrastructure, has evolved and separated from the long-established Plenum series Subcellular Biochemistry. It is the intention of these volumes to draw together related areas of investigation and to provide, in the fullness of time, complete coverage of this rapidly advancing important biomedical discipline. Both fundamental and medically applied topics, dealing with normal and pathological cells, will be included. This, the first volume of the series, contains a diverse collection of chapters, all of which relate to erythroid cells. The range of material included is extremely broad and the authors have used contrasting technical approaches, both within their personal experimen tal studies and within their manuscripts. This has led to the production of a very interest ing compilation, which does, nevertheless, possess a strong overall thematic unity. As with all edited volumes, some topics of importance and interest are not included. This may be because of oversight on my part, as editor, or because the authors originally selected failed to submit their manuscript by the agreed-upon submission date. For these omissions I take full responsibility and trust that at least some of the topics omitted, for instance membrane cation transport systems, will be covered within a future volume of the series. This book commences with two chapters of a developmental nature."

Rectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers world-wide. It is also a paradigm for multimodal management, as the combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy is often necessary to achieve the optimal outcome. Recently, international experts met in Heidelberg, Germany to discuss the latest developments in the management of rectal cancer, including the anatomic and pathologic basis, staging tools, surgical concepts including fast-track surgery and laparoscopic resection, functional outcome after surgery and the role of radio- and chemotherapy. This monograph summarizes this meeting and gives an extensive overview of the current concepts in management of rectal cancer.

Non-myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation (also known as mini-transplantation or reduced-intensity conditioning transplantation) is a major advance in the field of hematopoietic transplantation within the last 5 years. This approach uses non-cytotoxic or reduced-intensity cytotoxic therapy to prepare patients for allografting of hematopoietic stem cells and lymphocytes. It has the potential to deliver the potent anti-tumor immunotherapy and bone marrow replacement capacity of allogeneic stem cell transplantation to patients with reduced treatment-related morbidity and mortality. It may also enable allogeneic transplantation in patients who would be considered ineligible for conventional transplants because of co-morbidity or advanced age. However, this approach may necessitate more careful monitoring of post-transplant chimerism and malignant disease-status than is usual with conventional allografting. There is also controversy regarding the best preparative regimen and graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis to use.

This volume reviews the current state of research concerning bacterial virulence factors and the infection biology of Helicobacter pylori, which is the leading cause of peptic ulcers and gastric cancer worldwide. The chapters include cutting-edge findings on this fascinating microbe and discuss the general strategies of H. pylori infection and persistence, news on important H. pylori virulence factors, crosstalk with the microbiota, hot novel models and signaling mechanisms, risk factors of gastric disease and stomach cancer, and the impact of H. pylori infection on non-gastric diseases. Written by internationally respected scientists, this book will appeal to clinicians, researchers and advanced students alike.

There has been a dramatic increase in knowledge of tight junctions in the past decade. The molecular structure of tight junctions, cellular functions and the pathophysiological roles of tight junctions are becoming clear. Of the most important functions, the role of the cellular structure in cancer spread and drug delivery are increasingly realised. It is now clear that there are fundamental changes to tight junctions during the process of cancer development. Tight junctions are also critical to the metastatic process of cancer cells. The cellular structure is also crucial in drug therapies, namely, the permeability and bioavailability of the drugs, penetration of barriers such as the blood brain barrier. This current volume aims to summarise the current knowledge of tight junctions, their role in cancer and cancer metastasis and is of interest to scientists and clinicians.

It has been recognized for many years that cancers originating in the breast and prostate gland are frequently 'endocrine-dependent. ' Traditional thera pies included surgical endocrine ablative procedures or pharmacologic hor mone administration, both designed to antagonize the stimulatory effects of sex steroid hormones. In the past decade, several new treatment strategies for these tumors have emerged from basic studies in reproductive biology and mechanisms of action of steroid hormones. In some instances, these new treatments have elimin ated or reduced the need for major surgical ablative procedures or for toxic hormone therapy. The clinical role for other new treatments has not yet been clearly defined, although exciting preliminary data from recent clinical trials are now available. Thus, an objective review of the current status of these new therapeutic approaches is of interest. In this volume we have attempted to provide an in-depth review of both basic and clinical research involving several new treatment strategies for breast and prostate cancer. The first three chapters summarize preclinical and clinical studies of the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogues, which can be used effectively to induce 'medical castration. ' Chapters 4, 5, and 6 review the rationale and clinical use of the compounds known collec tively as the aromatase inhibitors, which can also be used to suppress sex steroid hormone levels. Antiestrogen mechanism of action and its clinical implications for the design of innovative treatment approaches is considered in chapters 7 and 8."

This volume commemorates the 30th anniversary of the discovery in 1971 of the first DNA topoisomerases, i.e topoisomerase I in E. coli, then provisionally named omega' protein, by the pioneering work of Jim Wang at Harvard University, who has contributed an article to this volume: Reflections on an accidental discovery' of the enzyme. Many kinds of topoisomerase have since been found from type I through to type VI in a variety of organisms ranging from viruses to higher eukaryote mammals. The wide distribution of enzymes in various forms of life implies that the DNA topoisomerase is essential for life.

In the mid 80's type I and II enzymes were found to be the intracellular targets of a number of efficacious anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin, mitoxantrone, etoposide and camptothecin as a result of a continued efforts of many investigators, especially Leroy Liu and his collaborators at Johns Hopkins University. Readers will find a series of chapters written by researchers actively engaged in the expanding field of topoisomerase and their inhibitors. The series of chapters cover review articles on pharmacology and the molecular mechanism of topoisomerase I- and II-targeting anticancer drugs in mammals and in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which has proved to be a superb model organism for studies of anticancer drugs. This volume compiles up-to-date information on the topoisomerase-targeting compounds in clinical and preclinical development as a useful and important reference book for students and researchers in the field of pharmacology, toxicology, oncology and molecular biology.

In the last decade, there has been a remarkable explosion of knowledge in hematologic cancer from basic molecular biology and pathology to clinical therapy. This has led to many new advance and insights in the understanding of pathobiology of malignant hematology. New knowledge of disease molecular pathology, cytogenetic, epigenetic and genomic alterations have provided new strategies to attack and eradicate tumor cells at molecular level and significantly impacted our current therapeutics for hematological malignancies. The recent and ongoing rapid expansion of knowledge in this area has become extensive, dynamic and diffuse over the literature and research publications. This has led to the need to capture and compile the new and current information about hematologic cancer with special emphasis on translation from molecular pathobiology to targeted therapeutics. In this book experts from around the world share their thoughts and knowledge about the pathobiology of hematologic cancer, as well as their view on current treatment approaches and future development in these malignant hematologic diseases. This book is well suited for hematology residents, fellows and hematology-oncology physicians, hematopathologist as well as basic research scientist in the area of hematologic malignancies.

This book is about Nutraceuticals in cancer therapy, specifically targeted and Adjuvant therapy. It shows several approaches for possibly reducing systemic toxicity. This book illustrates the role of several dietary agents, collectively called nutraceuticals or natural agents in the prevention and/or treatment of human malignancies known to be mediated through alterations in multiple molecular targets. This book contains sixteen chapters which begin with historical perspective on the value of natural agents in the prevention of human malignancies followed by a series of current topics on multiple nutraceuticals targeting multiple cancers. This collection would likely be useful for bringing newer generations with broader perspectives in launching cutting-edge innovative molecular research, which would certainly help in designing targeted clinical trials in order to realize the dream of customize strategies for the prevention and/or treatment of human malignancies without causing any systemic toxicity. Moreover, the knowledge gained would allow novel utilization of nutraceuticals as adjunct to both conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy in order to improve the overall quality of life and survival of patients diagnosed with cancers.