The present volume is the first in the advances in oncobiology series. It is meant to be useful not only to clinical and non-clinical oncologists but also to graduate students and medical students. The individual chapters are presented as self-contained summaries of current knowledge rather than as reviews. The last chapter deals with the subject of chemotherapy.

Aegean Conferences is an independent, nonprofit, educational organization directed and managed by the scientific community. The board is made up of nine researchers/scientists in various disciplines from Harvard, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, UCSD, Princeton, Biovista and the Foundation for Biomedical Research Academy of Athens. The board both invites and approves unsolicited proposals for Conferences in all fields of Science, Engineering, Arts, and Humanities. The purpose of the Conferences is to bring together individuals with common interests to examine the emerging and most advanced aspects of their particular field.

The Symposium on Ovarian Cancer: State of the Art and Future Directions intends to bring together international experts interested in the development of novel diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic tools for ovarian cancer. The meeting will function as a think tank where clinicians, translational and basic scientists, and parties from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry will get together to review recent advances in clinical research and translational science in ovarian cancer and define areas of future research opportunities and priorities.

Despite advances in detection and treatment, cancer remains a source of pain and distress to patients and of complex challenges to the loved ones caring for them. The trend toward shorter hospital stays in particular has increased the physical, psychological, and financial burden on caregivers, often leading to adverse effects on patients.

"Cancer Caregiving in the United States" illuminates these complex concerns with authoritative detail. This wide-ranging volume provides a comprehensive survey of cancer-related issues, including those affecting the care triad (patients-family members- professionals) and quality of care as well as the numerous physical, emotional, and financial challenges that caregivers may need to confront. Sources of caregiver difficulty at each stage of the disease, from diagnosis to end of life, are explored. Each chapter analyzes its topic in terms of practice, research, education, and policy, providing a wealth of literature reviews, assessment and care models, interventions, and recommendations for future study and practice.

Coverage includes:

Caregiving issues for cancer patients with long-term, short-term, and intermittent needs.Family caregivers as members of the treatment team.The impact of health disparities on caregivers.Cancer care policy and advocacy.End-of-life issues for cancer caregivers.Legal, financial, and ethical issues.

"Cancer Caregiving in the United States" is a core reference for researchers, professionals/scientist-practitioners, and graduate students in such caregiving fields as clinical psychology, social work, nursing, public health and medicine, social policy, and educational policy."

This is a practical guide to the design, conduction, analysis and reporting of clinical trials with anticancer drugs. It includes coverage of basic biostatistics for the clinical trialist, and fundamental concepts in clinical pharmacology.

Prominent investigators and clinicians summarize in a balanced blend of fundamental science, basic research, experimental therapeutics, and early clinical experiences, what is known about oncogenes and oncogenesis, and describe how that knowledge can be used to treat the cancer. The contributors explain how, why, and under what conditions certain proteins acquire the ability to transform eukaryotic cells, and detail the crucial biological consequences of this oncogenic transformation, particularly for cellular mitogenesis, survival, differentiation, migration, proteolysis, or angiogenic competence. Their articles thoroughly explicate the premises, principles, techniques, and approaches to oncogene targeting in various types of human cancer by using signal transduction inhibitors, immunological targeting methods, and antisense gene therapy.

The MD Anderson Solid Tumor Oncology series presents the most cutting-edge surgical treatment and medical therapy for specific sites. Each year, more than 26,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, also called a "silent" disease because it does not usually exhibit early symptoms. This volume defines the current standard on multimodality care: surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, radiotherapy, and a review of the latest research and clinical trials. It includes sections on: epidemiology/molecular biology, inherited pancreatic cancer syndromes, staging, various surgical techniques and outcomes, multimodality therapy and emerging and future therapies. The individual chapters focus on specific topics to produce a reference work of value to those interested in pancreatic cancer from a clinical and translational research perspective. A must-have for surgical oncologists and general surgeons.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Every year, about 33,700 people in the United States will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and over 32,000 patients will die from the disease. The median survival of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer is about 6-months. This dismal picture of pancreatic cancer is mainly due to the lack of early diagnosis and effective treatment for patients with advanced disease. To increase the survival rate of pancreatic cancer patients, better tumor markers for diagnosis and new molecular targets for drug development are desperately needed. A lot of effort has been made in searching for pancreatic cancer-causing genes or genes associated with progression of malignant behavior in pancreatic cancer. As a result, alterations in the expression of several cancer-related genes have been identified in pancreatic tumors. The identification and characterization of these cancer-related genes have significantly increased our understanding of pancreatic cancer development, but unfortunately the treatment of pancreatic cancer has not advanced as much in the past 20 years.

Over the past decade, tremendous advances have been made in the field of cancer drug discovery, particularly, in the area of molecular and genetic models and technologies. Many of those advanced models and technologies have been applied to the drug discovery processes for pancreatic cancer. In this book, a team of experts will describe the latest development in the application of these models and technologies in pancreatic cancer. The authors include basic researchers as well as clinicians who work in the front-line of the war against pancreatic cancer and have the first-hand experience on these cutting-edge tools and techniques. The book can be divided into two general areas: 1) model systems and 2) genomics and proteomics tools. In recent years there have been a lot of advances in the model systems for pancreatic cancer, including the further characterization of normal and cancerous pancreatic cell lines, the establishment of transgenic mouse models that recapitulate the initiation and progression of human pancreatic cancer, the development of a new xenograft model system for the evaluation of novel agents, and the establishment of a zebrafish pancreatic cancer model. The first four chapters of the book will be devoted to these models. The advances in genomics and proteomics research have made a major impact in cancer drug discovery. A number of these omics-based tools and techniques have been applied in the pancreatic cancer drug discovery. Chapters 5-9 of the book will discuss techniques for genome-wide examination of gene expression, copy number, methylation, function and regulation. Chapters 10-11 will discuss in situ techniques for studying chromosomal and gene copy number abnormalities as well protein expression changes in cancer samples. Chapters 12-14 will focus on techniques for global examination of protein expression levels in biospecimens obtained from pancreatic cancer patients. Cancer drug discovery has become more and more target-centric. "

After her diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), health journalist Patricia Prijatel did what any reporter would do: start investigating the disease, how it occurs, and how it's treated. While she learned that important research was emerging, she found a noticeable lack of resources on the disease, which affects 70,000 women a year and differs from hormone-positive breast cancer in important ways, including prognosis and treatment options. Hormone negative breast cancer disproportionately affects younger women and African-American women - and it can be more dangerous than other types of breast cancer. But there are many reasons to be hopeful, as Prijatel learned. Through her blog, Positives About Negative, she has met hundreds of women who have told her their stories and shared their fears, confusion, and frustration. After her recovery, she began writing this book to provide the first dedicated resource for women diagnosed with TNBC. Surviving Triple Negative Breast Cancer delivers research-based information on the biology of TNBC; the role of genetics, family history, and race; how to navigate treatment options; and a plethora of strategies to reduce the risk of recurrence, including diet and lifestyle changes. In clear, approachable language, Prijatel provides an accessible guide to understanding a pathology report and a vast array of scientific studies. Woven throughout the book are stories of women who have faced TNBC. These are mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters who went through a variety of medical treatments and then got on with life - one competes in triathlons, two had babies after being treated with chemo, one got remarried in her 50s, and one just celebrated the 30th birthday of the son she was nursing when she was diagnosed. With honesty and humor, Prijatel's inspiring story shows the heart of a survivor. Her message is that TNBC is a disease to take seriously, with proper and occasionally aggressive treatment, but it is not automatically a killer. Most women diagnosed with the disease do survive. Surviving Triple Negative Breast Cancer is a roadmap for women who want to be empowered through their treatment and recovery.

This book is about "Angiogenesis". A process in which new vasculature is formed from pre-existing capillaries. Angiogenesis process is associated with the proliferation and growth of both physiologically normal and neoplastic tissues, through the formation of vascular supply, essential for delivering growth requirements such as oxygen and nutrients. The book describes more than 100 genes and their key regulatory functions in the context of normal healthy condition, disease and malignancy, cancer proliferation and progression. New insights into the role of angiogenesis and the therapeutic inhibition of its regulators are investigated, due to the great potential for exploitation in the development of a novel treatment for cancer. New scientists, junior researchers and biomedical science students will find this book an invaluable introductory reference to their insight about angiogenesis and angiogenic role of more than 100 angiogenes and their role in healthy, disease and malignant conditions.

Stem cell research is one of the fascinating areas of contemporary biology, but, as with many expanding fields of scientific inquiry, research on stem cells raises scientific questions as rapidly as it generates discoveries. Research on stem cell treatment continues to advance knowledge about how an organism develops from a single cell and how healthy cells replace damaged cells in adult organisms. The most important potential application of human stem cells is the generation of cells and tissues that could be used for cell-based therapies, especially oncology. The Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sumatera Utara, collaborated with the center of excellence and innovation (Pusat Unggulan Inovasi /PUI). The Stem Cell center of the Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) organized an International Conference. The International Stem Cell and Oncology Conference (ISCOC) 2017 was a comprehensive academic conference in the field of stem cell and oncology research and also tropical medicine and related scientific topics. We expect Stem Cell Oncology will benefit academics and practitioners in the field of health sciences in Indonesia. This is an Open Access ebook, and can be found on www.taylorfrancis.com.

Although pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious forms of cancers, the outlook for patients could be improved. The lack of clinical symptoms of early, surgically removable disease most often limits curative treatment options. The aggressive tumor cell biology, leading to a locally advanced nature of the disease and to early metastases, allows curative resection in only 20% of patients at the time of diagnosis. Patients are therefore often faced with a dreadful prognosis from a state of almost full physical health. Furthermore, because there is a high recurrence rate after curative resection, treatment of this tumor entity becomes a great challenge.

This book gives insight into the current understanding of the management of pancreatic cancer and considers recent findings in cancer research. It provides answers to questions of how to know when cancer is respectable, how to proceed when the diagnosis comes too late for a curative approach, and how to assess different study results. Moreover, it highlights new upcoming therapeutic options and experimental approaches, which might further improve the future prospects for patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Multivariate analysis is a mainstay of statistical tools in the analysis of biomedical data. It concerns with associating data matrices of n rows by p columns, with rows representing samples (or patients) and columns attributes of samples, to some response variables, e.g., patients outcome. Classically, the sample size n is much larger than p, the number of variables. The properties of statistical models have been mostly discussed under the assumption of fixed p and infinite n. The advance of biological sciences and technologies has revolutionized the process of investigations of cancer. The biomedical data collection has become more automatic and more extensive. We are in the era of p as a large fraction of n, and even much larger than n. Take proteomics as an example. Although proteomic techniques have been researched and developed for many decades to identify proteins or peptides uniquely associated with a given disease state, until recently this has been mostly a laborious process, carried out one protein at a time. The advent of high throughput proteome-wide technologies such as liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy make it possible to generate proteomic signatures that facilitate rapid development of new strategies for proteomics-based detection of disease. This poses new challenges and calls for scalable solutions to the analysis of such high dimensional data. In this volume, we will present the systematic and analytical approaches and strategies from both biostatistics and bioinformatics to the analysis of correlated and high-dimensional data.

This volume contains a collection of writings from the leaders in the fields of Molecular Biology and Melanoma Research which will begin to tell the ever-expanding story of the most recent findings, discoveries, and potential of BRAF-directed targets in melanoma. Recent research has shown that BRAF inhibitors are effective for a short period of time, but there is little hope that this drugs as single agents will lead to durable benefit in a majority of patients. Among scientists and researchers who work in drug discovery, there is a lot of interest in the development of molecularly targeted cancer agents. Namely, the identification of a molecular target, the selection of molecules which effectively inhibit this target. What is starkly different about the development of this class of compounds, however, is that the mechanism of action of these agents are not as straightforward as was once previously assumed and the mechanisms of resistance that tumor cells employ to evade complete destruction are unlike any that have been described before. These discoveries in addition to utilization of modern molecular biology techniques have led to a series of hypotheses regarding which other types of molecules could be used in combination with BRAF-inhibitors in hopes of revolutionizing the potential of therapeutics in melanoma.

The ?eld of cellular responses to DNA damage has attained widespread recognition and interest in recent years commensurate with its fundamental role in the ma- tenance of genomic stability. These responses, which are essential to preventing cellular death or malignant transformation, are organized into a sophisticated s- tem designated the "DNA damage response". This system operates in all living organisms to maintain genomic stability in the face of constant attacks on the DNA from a variety of endogenous by-products of normal metabolism, as well as exogenous agents such as radiation and toxic chemicals in the environment. The response repairs DNA damage via an intricate cellular signal transduction network that coordinates with various processes such as regulation of DNA replication, tr- scriptional responses, and temporary cell cycle arrest to allow the repair to take place. Defects in this system result in severe genetic disorders involving tissue degeneration, sensitivity to speci?c damaging agents, immunode?ciency, genomic instability, cancer predisposition and premature aging. The ?nding that many of the crucial players involved in DNA damage response are structurally and functionally conserved in different species spurred discoveries of new players through similar analyses in yeast and mammals. We now understand the chain of events that leads to instantaneous activation of the massive cellular responses to DNA lesions. This book summarizes several new concepts in this rapidly evolving ?eld, and the advances in our understanding of the complex network of processes that respond to DNA damage.

Mesothelioma is a global problem, largely related to the previous use of asbestos products. Diagnosis is very difficult because of its diverse appearances and the potential for other diseases to mimic it. Written by experienced international experts to aid in pathological diagnosis, this book deals with clinical, radiological, epidemiological, molecular, and histopathological aspects of the disease. Tumors of the pleural, pericardial, peritoneal cavities as well as the ovary and tunica vaginalis are considered. Differential diagnoses of serosal-based lesions are discussed and the use of immunohistochemical stains is explained. Plentiful illustrations give further aid to diagnosis.An essential read for all diagnostic pathologists as well as general pathologists, who are sometimes required to diagnose the disease at biopsy or post mortem; also invaluable to medical and legal professions involved with various aspects of the disease.

Pancreatic cancer is a formidable disease, and advances in early detection and improved therapeutics have been slow to come forth. With new advances in molecular genetics in the field of pancreatic tumorigenesis, it is an opportune time to use these recent discoveries to enhance our understanding of pancreatic cancer biology and to improve outcomes in patients. In this volume, leading experts in the field shed light on these findings describing the mutational landscape of pancreatic cancer, including new inroads into our understanding of familial pancreatic cancer, epidemiology, the biology of K-ras signaling, and the emerging contribution of epigenetic alterations to disease initiation and progression. The distinctive pancreatic cancer-stroma ecosystem as determined by the dynamic interplay of inflammation, hallmark mutations, EMT, and cancer stem cells is described, and implications of these interactions in the context of development of novel, personalized therapeutic options are explored.

In the late 1980s, a promising new treatment for breast cancer emerged: high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation or HDC/ABMT. By the 1990s, it had burst upon the oncology scene and disseminated rapidly before having been carefully evaluated. By the time published studies showed that the procedure was ineffective, more than 30,000 women had received the treatment, shortening their lives and adding to their suffering. This book tells of the rise and demise of HDC/ABMT for metastatic and early stage breast cancer, and fully explores the story's implications, which go well beyond the immediate procedure, and beyond breast cancer, to how we in the United States evaluate other medical procedures, especially life-saving ones.
It details how the factors that drove clinical use--patient demand, physician enthusiasm, media reporting, litigation, economic exploitation, and legislative and administrative mandates--converged to propel the procedure forward despite a lack of proven clinical effectiveness. It also analyzes the limited effect of technology assessments before randomized clinical trials evaluated decisively the procedure and the ramifications of this system on healthcare today.
Sections of the book consider the initial conditions surrounding the emergence of the new breast cancer treatment, the drivers of clinical use, and the struggle for evidence-based medicine. A concluding section considers the significance of the story for our healthcare system.

This volume gives a general summary of the current understanding of lymphatic metastasis and the possibilities of more specific detection of lymph node metastasis. It describes in detail the procedure of sentinel lymph node detection in urogenital tumors, neck and thyroid tumors, malignant melanoma, gastric and colorectal cancer and tumors of the breast. The potential and limitations of this new method are discussed. This book provides comprehensive insight into a both clinically and scientifically important new field which is bringing about a marked improvement in the treatment of malignant tumors.

A cutting-edge review of how derangements in the hormonal and growth factor mechanisms controlling normal mammary development lead to breast cancer. Drawing on the multidisciplinary expertise of leading authorities, the book highlights the roles of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, spelling out the importance of autocrine/paracrine loops (e.g., stromal epithelial interactions) in supporting breast cancer cell proliferation and the progression to hormone independence. The book's many prominent contributors also illuminate significant recent advances in the biochemistry and physiology of hormone receptors and review the state-of -the-art in the endocrine therapy of breast cancer. Endocrinology of Breast Cancer provides a unique integrated overview of the most significant basic and clinical developments concerning the hormonal aspects of breast cancer.

This book is about melanoma-its biology, immunology, and pathology, as well as the initial use of powerful genomic tools to study its fundamental mole- lar and genetic characteristics. The study of cancer will be profoundly impacted by the Human Genome Project. I would like to discuss some of these changes. The first draft of the human genome sequence was announced in June 2000, and we have just scratched the surface of the changes it will engender in medicine. A relevant question is what are the long-term effects of the Human Genome Project for medicine? I would argue that there are three, and each of these three point toward the view that systems biology will dominate biology and medicine of the 21st century. First, the Human Genome Project introduced a new type of s- ence-discovery science. Discovery science takes a biological system (e. g. , the genome) and defines all of its elements (e. g. , the sequences of the 24 human ch- mosomes). Thus, it creates a rich infrastructure from which the classical hypo- esis-driven science can be done more effectively. The effective integration of discovery- and hypothesis-driven science is a key for systems approaches to bi- ogy and medicine. Second, the Human Genome Project has provided a "periodic table of life.

The objective of this book is to provide a critical analysis of the present prevention strategies for breast cancer, emphasizing the cost benefits and quality of life of the patient. Rooted in the present knowledge of breast cancer biology and prevention and treatment options, the book will describe the future tools that could be available to oncologists and how these new approaches may change the landscape of recurrence and survival of the disease. Special emphasis will be given to the prevention strategies counterposing the present limitations and conflicting prevention guidelines for both hereditary and preventive non-hereditary breast cancer, and propose how the implementation of new strategies based on the present knowledge could save millions of lives and be more cost efficient. The book will present a critical status of the treatment and prevention of breast cancer and detail how a quantum leap could be achieved in the field by applying present basic research knowledge to clinical application.

Despite the major developments in the therapeutic armamentarium for the treatment of infection, the morbidity and mortality of this complication remains very high in patients with compromised defences. Cancer and its treatment represents a major predisposing condition to a variety of infections. These adverse events are still with us, in spite of much progress in the therapy of infectious disease, since cancer therapy is becoming more aggressive, yet further lowering the host's capacity to cope with infections. Moreover, the pathogens adapt effectively to drugs, and at a pace that might outrun industry's capability to produce new agents. Finally, new pathogens are appearing as a consequence of both selection and severe immunosuppression. Infection is so common among cancer patients that its diagnosis and management represent a daily challenge to all oncologists, who must continually strive to keep abreast of developments in the area. The present comprehensive review of the most crucial and challenging aspects of the infectious complications in cancer patients will help them to do just that.

This book is based on presentations by some of the world 's leading experts at the Sixth International Conference on Clinical Cancer Prevention, held in St. Gallen, Switzerland, during March 2010. The main themes are the latest advances in the prevention of breast and prostate cancer and the role of infection in the development of liver and gastric cancer. Special emphasis is given to perspectives on the chemoprevention of breast cancer, as the conference included an international consensus meeting on this subject. New research findings are presented and potentially more effective cancer prevention strategies are discussed, with careful consideration of controversies. The expertise of the contributors encompasses genetics and microbiology, epidemiology, and health economics, as well as clinical cancer prevention. This book will be of interest to all who wish to learn about the most recent progress in combating the development of cancer.

Teddi Mervis lost her fight with cancer when she was 12 years old. Beginning with the diagnosis of her brain tumor, the story tells of her three-year battle for life--a struggle she eventually lost. Although Teddi passed away, her memory inspired those who had helped her to deal with her suffering to band together to aid other children who are facing cancer. These people and thousands of others inspired by Teddi's story--from construction workers to college students to bank presidents--helped form an organization whose primary purpose is to make the lives of children as happy and rewarding as possible. The organization, Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc., has become one of the largest and most successful organizations of its kind in the world. It is credited with breaking down the barriers for children with cancer and creating pioneering new programs. The 2001 Edition carries the story forward from 1990 with new photographs and an afterword. This book serves to teach and guide those who must cope with the devastating ordeal of childhood cancer.