Cell And Molecular Biology Of Endometrial Carcinoma

The 15th International Symposium of the Japan Human Cell Society on Cell and Molecular Biology of Endometrial Carcinoma brought together leading researchers from Japan and around the world. The papers collected here are the work of twenty-two leaders in their field and are organized in ten major categories. The first section, in vitro experimental systems, takes up the pioneering work by Kuramoto in 1968 and Nishida in 1980 in establishing, respectively, the HEC-1 and hormone-responsive endometrial carcinoma cell lines. Other topics include apoptosis, proliferation, and growth factors; cell cycle regulators; signaling pathways; angiogenesis; carcinogenesis; hormones and hormone receptors; genes and gene expression; endometrial receptivity; and chemo-resistance and -sensitivity. Presenting the latest work in the cell and molecular biology of endometrial carcinoma, this volume is a valuable resource for gynecologists, pathologists, and molecular biologists.

This comprehensive text provides a much-needed review of a disease that is currently garnering the interest of molecular biologists, translational scientists, and clinicians. The volume includes emerging developments in the molecular genetics of endometrial carcinoma. In addition to covering the basic genetics of endometrial carcinoma, chapters also cover a wide range of signaling pathways implicated in endometrial carcinoma. A section of the book includes a number of genetically engineered mouse models, which contribute to understanding the role of various genetic alterations in the development and progression of endometrial carcinoma. These models also provide preclinical models for developing effective targeted therapeutic approaches. Endometrial carcinoma is the most common malignancy of the female genital tract in the United States and the number of cases continues to increase around the world. This book is a meant to serve as a resource for a wide range of scientists, from molecular geneticists to signal transduction biologists, as well as to both clinicians and scientists interested in developing targeted therapeutic approaches for women with endometrial carcinoma.

This text provides a comprehensive review for practicing pathologists to understand the molecular biology, diagnostics, and predictive markers and implications for therapy of uterine cancer. While molecular based therapeutic strategies for uterine cancer are not as well developed as for some other organ sites, these are the most common gynecologic malignancies and there have been many important recent developments that are discussed in this volume. Comprehensive chapters address essential information about endometrial carcinoma, uterine mesenchymal tumors, and cervical carcinoma and include the pathogenesis of carcinoma and discuss molecular based classification, biomarkers, therapy, prevention, and hereditary cancers of the uterus. Precision Molecular Pathology of Uterine Cancer is a unique and one of a kind resource for practicing pathologists, pathologists in training and gynecologists.

The papers in this volume were presented at the Symposium on Cell Biology of the Uterus held December 12, 1986, on the NIH campus, Bethesda, MD. This was the first of a series of meetings that will be held in con junction with the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology. The uterus is now recognized as an extremely complex organ whose nor mal function is orchestrated by a delicate procession of cellular and molecular events that investigators are beginning to unravel for the first time. Powerful new analytical methods and the tools of molecular biology are now providing exciting breakthroughs in our basic understanding of uterine structure and function. Thus, the program of this meeting was or ganized to cover recent developments in uterine cell biology including the mechanism of hormone action, control of gene expression by nuclear acceptor sites and nuclear receptors, role of growth factors, endometrial cell kine tics during the menstrual cycle, regulation of specific protein synthesis and secretion, decidual cell function, and the role of early pregnancy pro teins. The material presented in this volume is concerned not only with how hormones and growth factors prepare the endometrium for implantation of the blastocyst, but it also details the recent characterization and identification of specific marker proteins secreted in response to hormone action and early pregnancy.

Biology of Female Cancers explores what can be learned about female cancers by summarizing what is known about the mechanisms of growth regulation and genetic features associated with common forms of female cancers, including malignancies of the breast, ovary, uterus, cervix, vulva, and gestational trophoblastic disease. The book describes the etiology, incidence, pathology, staging, and treatment of each type of cancer. The risk of developing particular tumor types and how their growth may be influenced by hormones, growth factors, and cytokines is also discussed. For oncologists, gynecologists and obstetricians, cell biologists, and everyone interested in learning more about female cancers, the Biology of Female Cancers offers a comprehensive, unique approach.

In developed countries, cancer of the endometrium (EC) is the most common cancer of the female reproductive organs, affecting mainly postmenopausal women. The highest incidence of EC is in Northern America and Europe, but its incidence is growing around the world. Several factors influence the risk of developing EC, including: impaired hormone levels, obesity, physical activity, family history, and having been diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer in the past. For EC, a standard screening test does not exist. It is often diagnosed at stage I/II due to frequent vaginal bleeding, while invasive EC (stage III/IV) is mainly diagnosed in its advanced stage. Despite the different clinical improvements when EC is progressed to the advanced/metastatic stage, the patients still have poor prognoses and unsatisfactory outcomes with conventional chemotherapy. The need for precision drugs is underscored by the limited number of options these patients have. So, the introduction of new techniques and the discovery of new biological characteristics, such as identification of transcriptome, proteome and metabolomics profiles, and new potential diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers are fundamental to improve our knowledges on EC. The scope of this Research Topic is to welcome articles and reviews from clinicians and scientists around the world in order to give an updated vision of the recent clinical insights, technical advances, and cellular and molecular targets related to endometrial cancer. Dedicated to Mr. Dario Conti, which supported endometrial cancer research.

The endometrium has been the subject of intense research in a variety of clinical settings, because of its importance in the reproductive process and its role in women’s health. In the past 15 years, significant efforts have been invested in defining the molecular phenotype of the receptive phase endometrium as well as of various endometrial pathologies. Although this has generated a wealth of information on the molecular landscape of human endometrium, there is a need to complement this information in light of the novel methodologies and innovative technical approaches. The focus of this International Journal of Molecular Sciences Special Issue is on molecular and cellular mechanisms of endometrium and endometrium-related disorders. The progress made in the molecular actions of steroids, in the metabolism of steroids and intracrinology, in endometrial intracellular pathways, in stem cells biology, as well as in the molecular alterations underlying endometrium-related pathologies has been the focus of the reviews and papers included.]

Molecular Biology of Cancer has been extensively revised and covers heredity cancer, microarray technology and increased study of childhood cancers. It continues to provide a detailed overview of the process which lead to the development and proliferation of cancer cells, including the techniques available for their study. It also describes the means by which tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes may be used in the diagnosis and in determining the prognosis of a wide variety of cancers, including breast, genitourinary, lung and gastrointestinal cancer.