Written by the winner of the 2008 Mike Price Fellowship "This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the wealth of information now available in this important and fast-moving subject." Anticancer Research, November - December 2008 This book provides a clear introduction to the area, with an overview of the various drug design and development approaches for cancer therapeutics and their progress in today’s multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment. Clearly structured throughout, the book not only provides information on currently used molecular treatment approaches, but also describes the various agents that are currently at various stages of development and clinical trials, thus making them the drugs of tomorrow. The book goes on to present current therapeutic regimes including their indications and side effects, as well as their position in the international market in terms of sales and development costs. Furthermore, coverage of our advancement in the understanding of cancer biology and how this has driven the drug discovery process is clearly discussed. Modern drug discovery aspects, through genomic, proteomic and metabolomic approaches are referred to as well as combinatorial chemistry techniques and discovery of chemotherapeutic agents from plant extracts, re-use of old drugs and drugs from other indications, or de novo rational drug design. Including contributions from leading experts in the field, this book provides the reader with a complete overview of the various types of therapeutic agents, current and emerging, as well as other aspects associated with anticancer therapy, drug design, resistance and clinical trials in oncology.

This book presents an overview of the current status of translating the RNAi cancer therapeutics in the clinic, a brief description of the biological barriers in drug delivery, and the roles of imaging in aspects of administration route, systemic circulation, and cellular barriers for the clinical translation of RNAi cancer therapeutics, and with partial content for discussing the safety concerns. It then focuses on imaging-guided delivery of RNAi therapeutics in preclinical development, including the basic principles of different imaging modalities, and their advantages and limitations for biological imaging. With growing number of RNAi therapeutics entering the clinic, various imaging methods will play an important role in facilitating the translation of RNAi cancer therapeutics from bench to bedside. RNAi technique has become a powerful tool for basic research to selectively knock down gene expression in vitro and in vivo. Our scientific and industrial communities have started to develop RNAi therapeutics as the next class of drugs for treating a variety of genetic disorders, such as cancer and other diseases that are particularly hard to address with current treatment strategies. Key Features Provides insight into the current advances and hurdles of RNAi therapeutics. Accelerates RNAi, miRNAs, and siRNA drug development for cancer therapy from bench to bedside. Addresses various modifications and novel delivery strategies for miRNAs, piRNAs and siRNA delivery in anticancer therapeutics. Explores the need for the interaction of hematologists,cell biologists, immunologists, and material scientists in the development of novel cancer therapies. Describes the current status of clinical trials related to miRNA and siRNA-based cancer therapy Presents remaining issues that need to be overcome to establish successful therapies.

This book explains how current medicines against cancer work and how we find new ones. It provides an easy-to-understand overview of current options to treat patients with cancer, which includes Surgery, Radiation therapy, Chemotherapy, Targeted therapy and Immunotherapy. The efficiency of all these treatments is limited by the capacity of cancer cells to escape therapy. This book explains the mechanisms of anti-cancer drug resistance and strategies to overcome it. The discovery and development process of a new drug is detailed beginning with the identification and validation of a therapeutic target, the identification of an inhibitor of the target and its subsequent preclinical and clinical development until its approval by regulatory authorities. Particular emphasis has been given to specific aspects of the development process including lead generation and optimization, pharmacokinetics, ADME analysis, pharmacodynamics, toxicity and efficacy assessment, investigational new drug (IND) and new drug application (NDA) and the design of clinical trial and their phases. The book covers many aspects of modern personalized oncology and discusses economic aspects of our current system of developing new medicines and its impact on our societies and on future drug research. The author of this book, Dr. Link counts with more than 20 years of experience in biomedical research reflected in numerous publications, patents and key note and plenary presentations at international conferences. Interested readers, students and teachers should read this book as it provides a unique way to learn/teach about basic concepts in oncology and anti-cancer drug research.

This timely desk reference focuses on marine-derived bioactive substances which have biological, medical and industrial applications. The medicinal value of these marine natural products are assessed and discussed. Their function as a new and important resource in novel, anticancer drug discovery research is also presented in international contributions from several research groups. For example, the potential role of Spongistatin, Apratoxin A, Eribulin mesylate, phlorotannins, fucoidan, as anticancer agents is explained. The mechanism of action of bioactive compounds present in marine algae, bacteria, fungus, sponges, seaweeds and other marine animals and plants are illustrated via several mechanisms. In addition, this handbook lists various compounds that are active candidates in chemoprevention and their target actions. The handbook also places into context the demand for anticancer nutraceuticals and their use as potential anti-cancer pharmaceuticals and medicines. This study of advanced and future types of natural compounds from marine sources is written to facilitate the understanding of Biotechnology and its application to marine natural product drug discovery research.

Polymeric Nanoparticles as Promising Tool for Anti-cancer Therapeutics provides an understanding of polymeric compounds and their use in cancer therapies. The book begins by giving an overview of the current status, future challenges and potential utilization of polymeric nanoparticles. It then covers specific polymeric nanoparticles through contributions from world-renowned experts and researchers. Chapters examine specific polymeric nanoparticles, their development as potential targeted delivery systems, and cancer characteristics that can be targeted for therapy development. The book synthesizes current research trends in the field, thus enhancing existing knowledge of nanomedicine, drug delivery and therapeutic intervention strategies in human cancers. Users will find this to be an ideal reference for research scientists and those in the pharmaceutical and medical fields who are working to develop novel cancer therapies using nanoparticle-based delivery systems. Explores the development of polymeric nanoparticle systems for the purpose of cancer therapy Presents thoroughly analyzed data and results regarding the usage of polymeric nanoparticles-based platforms for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer Highlights various cancer characteristics that can be targeted for therapeutic development using polymeric nanoparticles

An integrated presentation of the basic science and clinical applications of anticancer agents Aimed at both undergraduate and postgraduate readers, this unique text provides readers with a fully-integrated presentation of all aspects of the science of anticancer drugs, including their chemistry, pharmacology, and clinical applications. After heart disease, cancer is the number one killer worldwide, and the tumor microenvironment is forever changing, creating an ever-greater demand for safer, more effective anticancer agents. In response to that demand, the $100 billion cancer drug market continues to grow, with our increased understanding of cancer leading to new drugs being used clinically almost every year. Anticancer Therapeutics is divided into three sections. Section 1 is an introduction to cancer and therapeutics, and covers the etiology and cellular and molecular basis of cancer. In Section 2, the authors focus on the anticancer agents — their discovery, synthesis, mode of action, mechanisms of resistance, and adverse reactions. Section 3 focuses on specific cancers, explaining how and why the various agents discussed in Section 2 are used, both individually and in combination, to treat different cancers. Integrates aspects of basic science, including chemistry and pharmacology and clinical medicine in relation to cancer therapeutics Written by an author team comprising specialists in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and oncology Features full-color images throughout illustrating how drugs bind to cellular targets and exert their pharmacological effect Divided into three sections, covering the etiology and cellular and molecular basis of cancer, anticancer agents, and drug applications for different cancers. Providing the reader with an integrated understanding of all aspects of the science of anticancer agents, this is an ideal textbook for undergraduates studying medicine, nursing, medicinal chemistry, pharmacy, pharmacology and other allied heath / life sciences. It is also a valuable bench reference for pharmacists, medics, and pharmaceutical researchers working in both academia and industry.

In spite of the development of various anticancer drugs, the therapy of cancer has remained challenging for decades. The current therapy of cancer is overwhelmed because of the inability to deliver therapeutics to all regions of a tumor in effective therapeutic concentrations, intrinsic or acquired resistance to the treatment with currently available agents via genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, and toxicity. As a result, cancer therapy using conventional therapeutics and different types of treatment regimens using this therapeutics has not led to a convincing survival benefit of the patients. In this context, Macromolecular therapeutics offer several advantages over conventional low molecular therapeutics by various ways such as, enable the use of larger doses of these agents by limiting the toxicity, by enhanced permeability and retention into tumors, by tumor targeting using tumor-specific antibodies, by specific inhibition of oncogenes using anticancer oligonucleotides etc. Cancer treatment using this macromolecular therapeutics has considerably improved the survival benefit for patients. As a result, various macromolecular therapeutics are already commercialized or are under clinical development. Although we are far from a real magic bullet today, looking at the pace of research and current success in this field of macromolecular therapeutics, it appears that we are approaching a magic bullet for the efficient treatment of cancer. Thus, we believe that the subject of this book is very timely, and that the book will fill an unmet need in the market. This book is unique and assembles various types and aspects of macromolecular anticancer therapeutics for cancer therapy in one shell and conveys the importance of this interdisciplinary field to the broad audience. Thus, in a nutshell, this book details the basics of cancer, and various therapeutic strategies such as those based on macromolecular therapeutics hence can become an important reference for practitioners, oncologists, medical pharmacologists, medicinal chemists, biomedical scientists, experimental pharmacologists, pharmaceutical technologists, and particularly it can essentially become a handbook of macromolecular therapeutics for cancer therapy for graduates, post-graduates and Ph.D. students in these fields.