Time is also the implicit dimension in all dynamical systems and encourages focus on processes, rather than timeless structures.īackground: Cancer is a major public health problem in many parts of the world. Time is therefore a key organizing principle that is often overlooked when traditional (reductionist) approaches to cancer are used.
Cancer is seen here as molecular level mistakes that cause cells to regress to the wrong phase in their normal evolution, when their re-activated processes are inappropriate. Since cancer has primarily been investigated from a scientific perspective and as science (especially physics) operates mainly through the Materialist Hypothesis (“Nature only consists of Matter”), this framework will be presented from a purely materialist perspective (which is difficult enough, without adding any further factors). Recognizing that social under-standing requires natural languages, the emphasis here is on the organized presentation of concepts and their key relationships, especially when viewed from a systems perspective. Although Systems Theory is often presented as a mathematical scheme, this is not the approach used here. This book provides a unique view on the modern scourge of cancer by organizing the vast amounts of genetic discoveries on this disease using a Systems Theory approach, rather than the more usual historical viewpoint. Personalized cancer treatment on the basis of targeted therapies is certainly an achievable goal, but more work is needed to make it a reality. Still, the results often fall short of expectations. The treating physicians constantly face the daunting challenge of balancing expected benefit with risk for complications, to achieve the most successful outcome. The targeted therapies have improved survival time for many cancer patients but have not provided any definitive cures. Despite initial optimism, this approach to cancer therapy is proven to be problematic because of inherent cancer heterogeneity and frequent development of drug resistance.
A second type of targeted therapies consists of small molecules that are designed to inhibit tyrosine kinase activity within the cancer cells. These therapies include a variety of monoclonal antibodies that target cell-surface receptors or, in some cases, their ligands. These therapeutic agents are used specifically for those tumors that are found to be susceptible to such a therapeutic approach. In recent years, there has been an explosive growth in our knowledge about molecular cell biology of cancer leading to the development of several molecularly targeted therapies. Human cancer has been one of the most difficult and tenacious problems that has defied many therapeutic regimens in the past.
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