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At a crossroads in oncology

Alexander Kamb1

  • 1Amgen, Inc., 1120 Veterans Blvd, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. akamb@amgen.com

Current Opinion in Pharmacology
|June 15, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Current cancer therapies face significant hurdles due to cancer's genetic complexity. New therapeutic strategies are needed to overcome these challenges in clinical oncology.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Therapeutics Development

Background:

  • The current paradigm of cancer therapy faces limitations.
  • Progress in clinical oncology has been hampered by key obstacles.
  • Understanding cancer's genetic complexity is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To survey the current state of cancer therapy and clinical oncology.
  • To identify and address clinical and biological obstacles in cancer treatment.
  • To advocate for novel approaches in cancer therapy.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current cancer therapy paradigms.
  • Analysis of clinical and biological impediments.
  • Examination of genetic complexity and targeted therapy performance.

Main Results:

  • Cancer exhibits significant genetic complexity.
  • Targeted therapies show mixed clinical performance.
  • Industry pipelines for cancer drugs are largely homogeneous.

Conclusions:

  • Existing approaches to cancer therapy require re-evaluation.
  • New therapeutic strategies are essential for advancing cancer treatment.
  • Addressing the identified obstacles is critical for future progress.

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