PQD - 2 What molecular properties make some cancers curable with conventional chemotherapy? Background: Although chemotherapy is often effective, it is only rarely curative. However, it is well established that certain childhood cancers, some adult disseminated cancers, and rarely some adult solid tumors can be completely cured with chemotherapy, even with drugs that are often of much less value in other settings. While these responses are wonderful when they occur, there is little understanding of the underlying mechanisms that might explain why these cancers can be completely cured with chemotherapy. This Provocative Question seeks to understand what molecular properties of tumors make them curable by conventional chemotherapy. Feasibility: This question has largely been ignored since it was recognized, often decades ago, that such tumors could be cured by standard chemotherapeutic strategies. New methods are available for studying the biology of these "curable" cancers and for exploring the mechanisms by which the effective drugs work. Implications of success: If we could identify the properties of cancers that render them susceptible to eradication by chemotherapy, we might better understand how certain therapies work, contemplate converting relatively insensitive tumors to highly sensitive ones, or develop new approaches to the treatment of intransigent malignancies. |
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