For over a century, scientists have been exploring the mechanisms of cancer growth and spread, which deepen our understanding of cancer from molecular and cellular perspectives. Some landmark discoveries are picked out in the support of advisors, based on the context of the prevailing concepts and current knowledge. Special supplements released on the Nature website cover these landmarks, including a Timeline of the earliest papers.

Review-type articles in cancer

Nature Publishing Group (NPG) library contains research and review-type articles on the topic of cancer from 9 journals, such as Nature, Nature Medicine, and Nature Reviews Cancer. To introduce cancer research of landmark significance, Special supplements highlight 3 articles of review listed as follows.

Dr. Scott W at Cold Spring harbor laboratory, New York, published an article entitled ” Intrinsic tumour suppression” in the Nature journal. “Evolution installs in the proliferative programmes of mammalian cells a variety of innate tumour-suppressive mechanisms that trigger apoptosis or senescence. These contingent processes rely on a series of sensors and transducers that act in a coordinated network to target the machinery responsible for apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest at different points ” mentioned Scott. “Although oncogenic mutations that disable such networks can have profound and varied effects on tumour evolution, they may leave intact latent tumour-suppressive potential that can be harnessed therapeutically. “

DR. Vogelstein B in Howard Hughes medical institute, issued a review of “cancer genes and the pathways they control ” in the Nature Medicine journal. “The revolution in cancer research can be summed up in a single sentence: cancer is, in essence, a genetic disease.” described Vogelstein, ” In the last decade, many important genes responsible for the genesis of various cancers have been discovered, their mutations precisely identified, and the pathways through which they act characterized. The purposes of this review are to highlight examples of progress in these areas, indicate where knowledge is scarce and point out fertile grounds for future investigation.”

Dr. Bruce A. Chabner in the division of hematology/oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, published an article with title of “Chemotherapy and the war on cancer” in the Nature Reviews Cancer journal. ” The era of chemotherapy began in the 1940s with the first uses of nitrogen mustards and antifolate drugs” wrote Bruce, ” Cancer drug development since then has transformed from a low-budget, government-supported research effort to a high-stakes, multi-billion dollar industry. The targeted-therapy revolution has arrived, but the principles and limitations of chemotherapy discovered by the early researchers still apply. This article chronicles the history of modern chemotherapy and identifies remaining challenges for the next generation of researchers. “

References:

1. Intrinsic tumour suppression. Nature 2004. 432, 307−315

2. Cancer genes and the pathways they control. Nature Medicine 2004. 10, 789−799

3 Chemotherapy and the war on cancer. Nature Reviews Cancer 2005. 5, 65−72