The Molecular Biology of Cancer, Stella Pelengaris & Michael Khan
This capturing, comprehensive text, extensively revised and updated for its second edition, provides a detailed overview of the molecular mechanisms underpinning the development of cancer and its treatment.
"Bench to Bedside": A key strength of this book that sets it apart from general cancer biology references is the interweaving of all aspects of cancer biology from the causes, development and diagnosis through to the treatment and care of cancer patients -- essential for providing a broader view of cancer and its impact.
The highly readable presentation of a complex field, written by an international panel of researchers, specialists and practitioners, would provide an excellent text for graduate and undergraduate courses in the biology of cancer, medical students and qualified practitioners in the field preparing for higher exams, and for researchers and teachers in the field.
For the teaching of cancer biology, special features have been included to facilitate this use: bullet points at the beginning of each chapter explaining key concepts and controversial areas; each chapter builds on concepts learned in previous chapters, with a list of key outstanding questions remaining in the field, suggestions for further reading, and questions for student review. All chapters contain text boxes that provide additional and relevant information.
Key highlights are listed below: * An overview of the cancer cell and important new concepts. * Selected human cancers: lung, breast, colorectal, prostate, renal, skin, cervix, and hematological malignancies. * Key cellular processes in cancer biology including (a) traditionally important areas such as cell cycle control, growth regulation, oncogenes and tumour suppressors apoptosis, as well as (b) more highly topical areas of apoptosis, telomeres, DNA damage and repair, cell adhesion, angiogenesis, immunity, epigenetics, and the proteasome. * Clinical oncology: In-depth coverage of important concepts such as screening, risk of cancer and prevention, diagnoses, managing cancer patients from start to palliative care and end-of-life pathways. * Chapters highlighting the direct links between cancer research and clinical applications. * New coverage on how cancer drugs are actually used in specific cancer patients, and how therapies are developed and tested. * Systems Biology and cutting edge research areas covered such as RNA interference (RNAi). * Each chapter includes key points, chapter summaries, text boxes, and topical references for added comprehension and review. * Quotations have been used in each chapter to introduce basic concepts in an entertaining way. * Supported by a dedicated website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/pelengaris
We should list the great reviews we got for first edition which are on the back of the 2nd edition:
"A capturing, comprehensive, clearly written and absolutely accurate introduction into cancer biology...This book deserves great praise for the readable presentation of this complex field...the true synthesis of bench and bedside approaches is marvelously achieved." Christian Schmidt, Molecular Cell
"Chapters address the issues of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and patient care and set the book apart from general molecular biology references...This book is applicable to both graduate and undergraduate students, and in the context of a research laboratory, this book would be an excellent resource as a reference guide for scientists at all levels." V.Emuss, Institute of Cancer Research, London.
Also, from the first edition:
"Pelengaris, Khan, and the contributing authors are to be applauded. The Molecular Biology of Cancer is a comprehensive and readable presentation of the many faces of cancer from molecular mechanisms to clinical therapies and diagnostics. This book will be welcomed by neophyte students, established scientists in other fields, and curious physicians." -Dean Felsher, Stanford University
Contributors, vii Preface to the Second Edition, ix Reviews of the First Edition, x Acknowledgments and Dedication, xi About the Companion Website, xii Introduction, 1 1 Overview of Cancer Biology, 3 Michael Khan and Stella Pelengaris Introduction, 5 Cancer incidence and epidemiology, 8 Towards a definition of cancer, 8 Causes of cancer, 16 Cancer is a genetic disease, 21 Cancers (and Darwin s finches) evolve by mutation and natural selection, 21 Blame the parents inherited single gene defects and susceptibility to cancer, 21 The cancer roadmap What kinds of genes are epimutated in cancer?, 23 Viruses and the beginnings of cancer biology, 25 Hens and teeth or bears and woods? The hens have it cancer is rare, 25 The barriers to cancer, 25 What is the secret of cancer developme ... timing , 28 Location, location, location the cancer environment: nanny or spartan state, 28 Cancer goes agricultural, 29 Cancer superhighways blood vessels and lymphatics, 31 On your bike and turn the lights off before you go, 31 Catching cancer, 31 Hammering the hallmarks, 32 Painting a portrait of cancer, 33 The drugs don t work, 34 Mechanism of origin rather than cell of origin towards a new functional taxonomy of cancer, 35 Is it worth it?, 36 Conclusions and future directions, 36 Bibliography, 37 Appendix 1.1 History of cancer, 40 2 The Burden of Cancer, 43 William P. Steward and Anne L. Thomas Introduction, 43 Lung cancer, 45 Breast cancer, 49 Colorectal cancer, 53 Carcinoma of the prostate, 56 Renal carcinoma, 57 Skin cancer, 58 Carcinoma of the cervix, 60 Hematological malignancies, 60 Conclusions and future directions, 63 Outstanding questions, 63 Bibliography, 64 Questions for student review, 66 3 Nature and Nurture in Oncogenesis, 67 Michael Khan and Stella Pelengaris Introduction, 69 Risk factors, 73 Preventing cancers, 76 Cancer genetics in depth, 78 Cancer genomics, 87 Gene environment interactions, 89 Mutations and treatment, 89 Chemoprevention of cancer, 90 Risk factors act in combination, 90 Environmental causes of cancer, 93 The clinical staging and histological examination of cancer, 101 Screening and biomarkers, 102 Somatic gene mutations, epigenetic alterations and multistage tumorigenesis, 105 Conclusions and future directions, 107 Outstanding questions, 107 Bibliography, 107 Questions for student review, 109 4 DNA Replication and the Cell Cycle, 111 Stella Pelengaris and Michael Khan Introduction, 112 The cell cycle overview, 114 Phases of the cell cycle, 120 The cell-cycle engine: cyclins and kinases, 123 Regulation by degradation, 126 Regulation by transcription, 129 MicroRNAs and the cell cycle, 131 Chromatin, 131 DNA replication and mitosis, 131 Checkpoints putting breaks on the cell-cycle engine, 135 The DNA damage response (DDR), 136 The checkpoints, 136 Cell-cycle entry and its control by extracellular signals, 138 Changes in global gene expression during the cell cycle, 139 Cell cycle and cancer, 139 Drugging the cell cycle in cancer therapies, 141 Conclusions and future directions, 142 Outstanding questions, 143 Bibliography, 143 Questions for student review, 144 5 Growth Signaling Pathways and the New Era of Targeted Treatment of Cancer, 146 Stella Pelengaris and Michael Khan Introduction, 147 Growth factor regulation of the cell cycle, 150 Growth homeostasis and tissue repair and regeneration, 151 Regulated and deregulated growth, 155 Cellular differentiation, 157 Tissue growth and the angiogenic switch , 158 Cancers and nutrients, 158 Growth factor signaling pathways, 160 A detailed description of signal transduction pathways and their subversion in cancer, 160 Translational control and growth, 184 Conclusions and future directions, 185 Outstanding questions, 185 Bibliography, 186 Questions for student review, 187 6 Oncogenes, 188 Stella Pelengaris and Michael Khan Introduction, 189 The oncogenes, 189 The discovery of oncogenes ushers in the new era of the molecular biology of cancer, 191 Overview of oncogenes, 191 Types of oncogenes, 193 Oncogene collaboration from cell culture to animal models, 199 The c-MYC oncogene, 199 The RAS superfamily, 213 SRC the oldest oncogene, 228 BCR ABL and the Philadelphia chromosome, 232 The BCL-2 family, 235 Biologically targeted therapies in cancer and the concept of oncogene addiction , 235 Conclusions and future directions, 235 Outstanding questions, 236 Bibliography, 236 Questions for student review, 238 7 Tumor Suppressors, 239 Martine F. Roussel Introduction, 239 The two-hits hypothesis: loss of heterozygosity (LOH), 240 Haploinsuffi ciency in cancer, 240 Epigenetic events, 242 Definition of a tumor suppressor, 242 The retinoblastoma protein family, 242 p53/TP53, 250 INK4a/ARF, 254 The p53 and RB pathways in cancer, 257 Senescence and immortalization: Role of RB and p53, 258 Tumor suppressors and the control of cell proliferation, 258 Tumor suppressors and control of the DNA damage response and genomic stability, 260 The microRNAs and tumor suppressors, 260 Conclusions and future directions, 263 Acknowledgments, 263 Outstanding questions, 264 Bibliography, 264 Questions for student review, 265 8 Cell Death, 266 Stella Pelengaris and Michael Khan Introduction, 267 An historical perspective, 267 Apoptosis in context, 267 Apoptosis as a barrier to cancer formation, 271 Apoptosis versus necrosis, 271 Cell death by necrosis not just inflammatory, 272 The pathways to apoptosis, 272 The apoptosome wheel of death , 274 Caspases the initiators and executioners of apoptosis, 274 The IAP family inhibitors of apoptosis and much more, 276 The central role of MOMP and its regulators in apoptosis the BCL-2 family, 279 Mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), 281 Endoplasmic reticulum stress, 282 Stress-inducible heat shock proteins, 282 Tumor suppressor p53, 282 Oncogenic stress: MYC-induced apoptosis, 283 Autophagy a different kind of cell death and survival, 287 Cell death in response to cancer therapy, 290 Exploiting cell death (and senescence) in cancer control, 290 Conclusions and future directions, 292 Outstanding questions, 293 Bibliography, 293 Questions for student review, 294 9 Senescence, Telomeres, and Cancer Stem Cells, 295 Maria A. Blasco and Michael Khan Introduction, 296 Senescence, 298 Conclusions and future directions, 310 Outstanding questions, 310 Bibliography, 311 Questions for student review, 312 10 Genetic Instability, Chromosomes, and Repair, 314 Michael Khan Introduction, 316 Telomere attrition and genomic instability, 321 Sensing DNA damage, 323 Repairing DNA damage, 325 Checkpoints, 336 Microsatellites and minisatellites, 343 Chaperones and genomic instability, 344 Cancer susceptibility syndromes involving genetic instability, 345 Genomic instability and colon cancer, 346 Conclusions and future directions, 346 Outstanding questions, 347 Bibliography, 347 Questions for student review, 349 11 There Is More to Cancer than Genetics: Regulation of Gene and Protein Expression by Epigenetic Factors, Small Regulatory RNAs, and Protein Stability, 350 Stella Pelengaris and Michael Khan Introduction, 351 The language of epigenetics, 353 Epigenetics, 353 Methylation of DNA, 359 Acetylation of histones and other posttranslational modifications, 360 Epigenetics and cancer, 362 CIMP and MIN and the mutator phenotype , 365 Imprinting and loss of imprinting, 366 Clinical use of epigenetics, 367 Regulation of translation, 368 Noncoding RNA and RNA interference, 369 Therapeutic and research potential of RNAi, 371 Treatments based on miRNA, 373 Regulating the proteins, 373 Therapeutic inhibition of the proteasome, 376 Receptor degradation, 377 Wrestling with protein transit the role of SUMO and the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) body, 377 Conclusions and future directions, 380 Outstanding questions, 380 Bibliography, 381 Questions for student review, 382 12 Cell Adhesion in Cancer, 383 Charles H. Streuli Introduction, 383 Adhesive interactions with the extracellular matrix, 384 Cell cell interactions, 393 Critical steps in the dissemination of metastases, 395 E-cadherin downregulation in cancer leads to migration, 399 Epithelial mesenchymal transitions, 401 Integrins, metalloproteinases, and cell invasion, 402 Survival in an inappropria
