Genes Oncogenes And Hormones

Where do you begin to look for a recent, authoritative article on the diagnosis or management of a particular malignancy? The few general oncology textbooks are generally out of date. Single papers in specialized journals are informative but seldom comprehensive; these are more often preliminary reports on a very limited number of patients. Certain general journals frequently publish good in-depth reviews of cancer topics, and published symposium lectures are often the best overviews available. Unfortunately, these reviews and supplements appear sporadically, and the reader can never be sure when a topic of special interest will be covered. Cancer Treatment and Research is a series of authoritative volumes that aim to meet this need. It is an attempt to establish a critical mass of oncology literature covering virtually all oncology topics, revised frequently to keep the coverage up to date, and easily available on a single library shelf or by a single personal subscription. We have approached the problem in the following fashion: first, by dividing the oncology literature into specific subdivisions such as lung cancer, genitourinary cancer, pediatric oncology, etc.; and second, by asking eminent authorities in each of these areas to edit a volume on the specific topic on an annual or biannual basis. Each topic and tumor type is covered in a volume appearing frequently and predictably, discussing current di agnosis, staging, markers, all forms of treatment modalities, basic biology, and more.

Hormonal carcinogenesis is an important and controversial area of current research. In addition to accelerating existing cancers, can hormones play the role of primary carcinogens? How do genetic factors influence hormone-related cancer risk? Hormones, Genes, and Cancer addresses these questions. Over the past few decades, cancer research has focused on external environmental causes(e.g., tobacco smoke, viruses, asbestos). With the advent of new genetic sequencing techniques, we are just now beginning to understand how the body's internal environment(i.e., the hormones and growth factors that determine normal development) influences cancer etiology and prevention. From molecular insights to clinical analyses, this volume provides state-of-the-art information on the complex interactions between hormones and genes and cancer. The epidemiology and molecular endocrinology of prostate, breast, uterine, ovarian and testicular cancer are detailed in this timely treatise.

This text examines the hormones and peptide growth factors involved in the regulation of metabolism, growth and differentiation in metazoan organisms and proto-oncogene expression. Investigates protein products of some proto-oncogenes for involvement in the transductional and post-transductional and mechanisms of hormones and peptide growth factors.

How is growth controlled in normal cells? How are the growth control mechanisms perturbed in cancer cells? This book provides an up-to-date description of research aimed at resolving these questions. It is organized into four sections, each containing a series of short reviews written by experts in the field. The general headings are: growth factors, receptors, and related oncogenes: transduction of mitogenic signals and ras oncogenes; nuclear oncogenes and regulation of gene expression; and multiple steps involved in malignant transformation. The articles emphasize concepts rather than detailed facts and are intended not only for specialists in the field but also for interested readers, such as physicians and advanced students, who wish to stay abreast of developments in one of the most exciting fields in current biomedical research.

The first edition of Oncogenes (1989) focused on several of the better known transforming mechanisms and surveyed a spectrum of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Several of the nearly 50 known oncogenes most relevant to human disease were examined. In contrast, this volume presents a very different profile and balance of subject material that reflects the rapidly changing field of molecular oncology and its newly emerging concepts. Among the most important discoveries of the past 4 years are the identification of nearly a dozen different tumor suppressor genes and the finding of an entirely new class of cancer-causing gene (bcl-2) that acts by inhibiting cell death rather than stimulating cell proliferation. This edition begins by reviewing selected malignancies in which our earlier search for clinically relevant oncogenes has led to more focused studies on gain-of-function and loss-of-function genetic abnormalities, as well as autocrine and paracrine growth factor loops known to regulate tumor physiology and malignant cell behavior. Curiously, many of these genetic and functional abnormalities are shared by several different tumor types and are not uniformly present in all tumors of the same type. This observation brings up molecular questions about the tissue-specific determinants that underlie individual cancers and also gives added impetus to the suggestion that molecular abnormalities (referred to as tumor markers) be included among the histopathologic features used for clinical diagnosis and manage ment.

Hormones and Growth Factors in Development and Neoplasia Edited by Robert B. Dickson, Lombardi Cancer Research Center, Georgetown University David S. Salomon, Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, National Cancer Institute, NIH The study of hormones is critical to our understanding of developmental aberrations leading to cancer, and the discovery of polypeptide growth factors has led to profound insights into the duality of control of development and cancer by hormones at the tissue and cellular levels. In this book, leading researchers in the field present a cohesive overview of several important growth factor systems and how they interact with endocrine hormones in the context of tissue-tissue interactions; control of cellular growth, differentiation, and death; and reciprocal control of receptors and ligands at the molecular level. In its first two sections, Hormones and Growth Factors in Development and Neoplasia introduces important growth factors and hormonal systems in invertebrate and amphibian model systems, highlights early evolutionary and developmental functions for the classes of molecules later shown to be important in human cancer, establishes the roles of growth factors and hormones in mammalian development, and focuses on early embryonic events and later events leading to sexual dimorphism. The book's third section discusses in detail the control of postnatal developmental processes in male and female reproductive tracts, focusing on the prostate and mammary glands as well as the female reproductive tract, all of which are of special importance in hormonally driven cancers. Finally, the book takes a direct look at cancers and the molecular mechanisms of hormone-growth factor interactions. Among the many topics covered in this timely volume are: * Ecdysone in development of Drosophila * The progesterone receptor in mammalian development * Regulation of cell survival and apoptosis in the reproductive tracts and the breast * Hormones, growth factors, oncogenes, and prostate cancer With its novel approach, authoritative coverage, and broad scope, Hormones and Growth Factors in Development and Neoplasia is informative and relevant for researchers across a spectrum of disciplines, including cancer research, endocrinology, developmental biology, and cell biology.

The intensive study of molecular events leading to cellular transformation in tissue culture or in intact organisms culminated in the identification of 100 or more genes that can be defined as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Functionally, these genes can be divided into several classes, each involved in a different step in transmission of signals from the exterior of the cell to the nucleus. The first oncogenes to be biochemically character ized included membrane receptors for growth factors, growth factors themselves, protein kinases or small GTP binding proteins involved in signal transduction. Later, the development of techniques to study pro teins-DNA interaction in eucaryotes and the isolation and characterization of many promoter and enhancer sequences revealed that a number of the classical retroviral oncogenes were indeed transcription factors. In paral lel, the rapid progress in the identification and cloning of chromosomal translocations in human and animal malignancies and the increased reper toire of known transcription factors families revealed that many other transcription factors can playa critical role in cancer. A more recent devel opment concerns tumor suppressor genes. The realization that human tumors are frequently associated with a loss of function of one or several genes is also one of the landmarks of cancer research in the last 15 years. Again, as we will see below, some of these genes encode transcription factors. It is becoming increasingly difficult to cover in a single monograph all oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes.

Hormonal carcinogenesis is an important and controversial area of research. In addition to accelerating existing cancers, can hormones play the role of primary carcinogens? And how do genetic factors influence hormone-related cancer risk? This work addresses these questions.

The second edition of this authoritative text details major advances and developments in the field, such as the identification of many new tumor suppressor genes and the striking progress in understanding signal transduction pathways leading to cell proliferation. Oncogenes, Second Edition, addresses the needs of advanced undergraduates, graduate students, medical students, physicians, and scientists by examining the current state of oncogene study and where future research may lead.