Screening Patients' Tumor Tissues May Reveal Which Cancer Drugs Will Work Best

Genetic differences can affect the susceptibility of cancer cells to different drugs. In a new Molecular Oncologystudy, investigators show that surgically-removed breast and prostate tumor specimens can be used to rapidly screen different drugs to see which ones most effectively target an individual’s cancer cells.

The ability to quickly evaluate drug efficacy in patient-derived material in this way may help in the design of personalized medicine approaches against cancer.

“The information we get from testing cancer drugs on actual human tumors has potential to advance cancer research in unprecedented ways, from improved diagnostic and prognostic tools to better drug screening and design, and of course, tailoring treatments to individual patients,” said lead author Dr. Margaret Centenera, of the University of Adelaide, in Australia.

Additional Information
Link to Study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1878-0261.12354

About Journal
Molecular Oncology is an Open Access international journal that highlights new discoveries, approaches, as well as technical developments, in basic, clinical and discovery-driven translational cancer research.

The emphasis is on work that significantly advances our understanding of disease processes leading to human tumour development and/or establishes novel concepts of clear clinical significance in diagnosis, prognosis and prevention strategies for cancer patients.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Key biological processes such as cell cycle; DNA repair; apoptosis; invasion and metastasis; angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis; cell signalling and interactive networks; immune response.
• Emerging technologies (genomics, proteomics, functional genomics, metabolomics, tissue arrays, imaging), and model systems.
• Biomarkers: diagnosis, prognosis, stratification and efficacy.
• Cancer genetics, epigenetics, and genomic instability.
• Minimal residual disease, pre-malignant lesions.
• Cancer micro-environment.
• Molecular pathology.
• Tumour immunology.
• Translational research.
• Cancer therapy (target discovery, drug design, immunotherapy, combination therapies, resistance, and individualised treatment).
• Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.
• Clinical pharmacology.
• Clinical trials, integration of basic science into cancer clinical trials.
• Molecular epidemiology.