Making progress through molecular attacks on cancer

The success of kinase inhibitor therapy in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has validated the long-held thesis in the cancer research community that a precise molecular understanding of cancer can directly affect cancer therapy. Now that several years have passed since the approval of imatinib/Gleevec for CML treatment, we have a greater appreciation for the challenges involved in effectively deploying these agents in the clinic. In this paper, I review recent events in the treatment of CML and highlight early applications of kinase inhibitor therapy to other diseases such as glioblastoma. I conclude with a vision that it may be possible, through analysis of tumor proteins secreted into serum, to track distinct molecular features of various cancers in order to select appropriate molecularly targeted therapy and measure treatment response. This new science of cancer biomarkers could radically transform the conduct of clinical trials and speed the evaluation of new molecularly targeted agents.