Archive | 2021
CANCER INSIGHT: HALLMARKS AND THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES
Abstract
Cancer metastasis is a complex, multistep process\xa0responsible for > 90% of cancer-related deaths.\xa0Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally\xa0and about 8.8 million people worldwide died from\xa0cancer (Liver (788 000), Lung (1.69 million)\xa0Colorectal (774 000), Stomach (754 000), Breast (571\xa0000)) in 20151. That is nearly 1 in 6 of all global\xa0deaths. Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver\xa0cancer are the most common types of cancer in men,\xa0while breast, colorectal, lung, cervix and stomach\xa0cancer are the most common among women. During\xa0metastasis, the primary tumor seeds pioneer cells that\xa0move out, invade adjacent tissues, and then travel to\xa0distant sites where they may succeed in founding new\xa0colonies called secondary tumors . In the last few decades, a rich and complex body of\xa0knowledge has been generated in cancer, revealing\xa0cancer to be a disease involving dynamic changes in\xa0the genome. In 2000, Douglas Hanahan and Robert A.\xa0Weinberg reported six hallmarks of cancer. They\xa0include sustaining proliferative signaling, evading\xa0growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling\xa0replicative immortality, inducing angiogenesis, and\xa0activating invasion and metastasis. Underlying\xa0these hallmarks are genome instability, which\xa0generates the genetic diversity that expedites their\xa0acquisition, and inflammation. Cancer Initiation,\xa0detachment and organ-specific affinity of cancer cells\xa0to host cells in terms of the above mentioned\xa0hallmarks helped devise new potential therapies. To\xa0date, five cancer treatment modalities have been\xa0defined. Currently available cancer treatments\xa0include the traditional surgery (Cryosurgery, Lasers,Hyperthermia), radiotherapy (External Beam\xa0Radiation Therapy, Internal Radiation Therapy), and\xa0conventional chemotherapy (Oral, Intravenous (IV),\xa0Injection, Intrathecal, Intraperitoneal (IP), Intraarterial\xa0(IA), Topical), approaches and have been extended with two new modalities in recent decades:\xa0molecularly targeted therapy (MTT) ( Small -molecule drugs, antibodies ) and immunotherapy\xa0Monoclonal antibodies,, Adoptive cell transfer,\xa0Cytokines, Treatment Vaccines, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)). The most important goal of\xa0targeted therapy or more advanced immune-based\xa0strategies is to eradicate cancer cells more specifically\xa0than traditional theraphies while maintaining an\xa0acceptable level of side effects and quality of life.\xa0Unfortunately, the newly developed targeted agents\xa0or techniques show a similar incidence and severity of\xa0toxicities as traditional cytotoxic agents do.\xa0With a full clarity of mechanism, cancer prognosis\xa0\xa0and treatment will become a rational science. It s a\xa0dream that one day the patchwork quilt of major fields\xa0like cell biology, genetics, histopathology,\xa0biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology and\xa0physics will detect and identify all stages of cancer\xa0progression and will be able to prevent incipient\xa0cancers from developing and will cure preexisting\xa0cancers.