Environmental Protection: Studies Highlight Importance of Tumor Microenvironment

Extract

The discovery of cellular oncogenes in the early 1970s launched a generation of research on the molecular basis of cancer. The resulting explosion of information about the molecular pathways of cell transformation has led to several highly successful targeted approaches to cancer treatment, such as the recent success of imatinib (Gleevec), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for treating chronic myelogenous leukemia. But many glaring gaps remain in understanding the genesis and progression of cancer.

The frustrating lack of progress in treating many solid tumors has led some researchers to propose a radical shift in thinking about the nature of cancer. Several investigators are beginning to suggest that cancer may arise from disruptions in tissue organization rather than from accumulated mutations in individual cells. And their ideas are now being heard.

The National Cancer Institute has made understanding the tumor microenvironment one of its top priorities for 2004 by allocating $40 million to understanding the role of the cells and extracellular components that surround and interact with cancer cells and how this interaction can control or promote tumor growth.