Abstract
During the past decade, a new paradigm in cancer therapeutics has emerged that offers the promise of personalized medicine, where the individual characteristics of a patient’s tumor can be evaluated and exploited. In this setting, the primary site of malignancy would become a secondary consideration; rather it would be the fundamental driving factor, the ‘molecular fingerprint’ of the tumor, that would determine the appropriate therapy. This concept of cancer therapy is still in its infancy, with prospective tumor genotyping being used on a limited, often experimental basis in specific disease sites such as the colon, breast and lung. As technology and understanding improve, many look forward to a time when all tumors can be interrogated for an array of known amplifications, mutations or deletions that drive neoplastic pathways and thus represent a potential Achilles’ heel that may confer sensitivity to targeted molecular therapies, and a better toxicity profile. This article will present the current state of ovarian cancer therapy, discuss a blueprint for applying targeted approaches, and address the challenges and future prospects for researchers and clinicians utilizing targeted agents for this deadly disease.
Keywords::
Financial & competing interests disclosure
Richard T Penson receives research funding from Genentech, Inc., CuraGen Corporation, PDL BioPharma, Inc., ImClone Systems, Inc., Endocyte, Inc., Lilly and Company, and has served on Scientific Advisory Boards for GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott Laboratories and AstraZeneca. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.