Evolution Adjusted Tumor Pathophysiology

Combined modularized therapies for metastatic cancer are pointing to central problems of communication among ‘systems participators’. A communication theory explains 'social engineering', endogenously induced or by implementing non-normative boundary conditions. Evolution-adjusted tumor pathophysiology is borne by an evolution theory, which contrasts narrative evolution histories. The tool of rationalizations constituting the tumor's normativity (inflammation, immune response etc.) represents the non-genomic counterpart of the tumor genome and should be additionally assessed during tumor staging. Evolution-adjusted tumor pathophysiology allows implementing applied systems biology, a novel clinical and pharmaceutical technology for bioengineering tumor response and personalizing tumor therapy. Combined modularized therapy, evolution-adjusted tumor pathophysiology, and ‘universal’ biomarkers concertedly address genetically based tumor heterogeneity.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "PPARs in Cellular and Whole Body Energy Metabolism" that was published in IJMS

Tumor progression is driven by mutations that confer growth advantages to different subpopulations of cancer cells. As a tumor grows, these subpopulations expand, accumulate new mutations, and are subjected to selective pressures from the environment, including anticancer interventions. This process, termed clonal evolution, can lead to the emergence of therapy-resistant tumors and poses a major challenge for cancer eradication efforts. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine examines cancer progression as an evolutionary process and explores how this way of looking at cancer may lead to more effective strategies for managing and treating it. The contributors review efforts to characterize the subclonal architecture and dynamics of tumors, understand the roles of chromosomal instability, driver mutations, and mutation order, and determine how cancer cells respond to selective pressures imposed by anticancer agents, immune cells, and other components of the tumor microenvironment. They compare cancer evolution to organismal evolution and describe how ecological theories and mathematical models are being used to understand the complex dynamics between a tumor and its microenvironment during cancer progression. The authors also discuss improved methods to monitor tumor evolution (e.g., liquid biopsies) and the development of more effective strategies for managing and treating cancers (e.g., immunotherapies). This volume will therefore serve as a vital reference for all cancer biologists as well as anyone seeking to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer.

Carcinoma of the prostate increasingly dominates the attention of urologists for both scientific and clinical reasons. The search for an explanation and the prediction of the variable behaviour of the malignant prostatic cell continues unabated. The search for more precise tumour staging and more effective treatment is equally vigorous. Editors Andrew Bruce and John Trachtenberg have assembled acknowledged leaders in prostate cancer to present those areas of direct interest to the clinician. There are a number of other topics that might have been considered but most of these, such as experimental tumour models or biochemical factors affecting cell growth, still lack immediate application for the clinician. Carcinoma of the prostate continues to have its highest incidence in the western world, and the difference in comparison with the incidence in the Far East appears to be real and not masked by diagnostic or other factors. A number of other epidemiological aspects need careful analysis: Is the incidence increasing? Is the survival improving? Is the prognosis worse in the younger patient? Epidemiological data are easily misused and misinterpreted so that a precise analysis of the known facts makes an important opening chapter to this book.

The onset of cancer presents one of the most fundamental problems in modern biology. In Dynamics of Cancer, Steven Frank produces the first comprehensive analysis of how particular genetic and environmental causes influence the age of onset. The book provides a unique conceptual and historical framework for understanding the causes of cancer and other diseases that increase with age. Using a novel quantitative framework of reliability and multistage breakdown, Frank unifies molecular, demographic, and evolutionary levels of analysis. He interprets a wide variety of observations on the age of cancer onset, the genetic and environmental causes of disease, and the organization of tissues with regard to stem cell biology and somatic mutation. Frank uses new quantitative methods to tackle some of the classic problems in cancer biology and aging: how the rate of increase in the incidence of lung cancer declines after individuals quit smoking, the distinction between the dosage of a chemical carcinogen and the time of exposure, and the role of inherited genetic variation in familial patterns of cancer. This is the only book that presents a full analysis of the age of cancer onset. It is a superb teaching tool and a rich source of ideas for new and experienced researchers. For cancer biologists, population geneticists, evolutionary biologists, and demographers interested in aging, this book provides new insight into disease progression, the inheritance of predisposition to disease, and the evolutionary processes that have shaped organismal design.

In the last decade, researchers working in the field of cancer biology have shifted their focus from genetic defects to epigenetic dysregulation, especially that of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). This book encompasses a comprehensive review of the transcriptional landscape of the cell and its involvement in the cancer pathophysiology. The first two chapters elucidate the basics of biosynthesis, mechanism of action and modulation of the epigenetic regulation of gene expression by coding as well as non-coding RNAs. The third chapter discusses the aberrant expression of the cellular RNome in the cancer cells and highlights its role in the orchestration of processes involved in evolution as well as the sustenance of cancer cells. The fourth chapter describes the recent advances in the field of translating the transcriptome into diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and as targets for novel anti-cancer therapies. The final chapter then reviews the emerging experimental approaches to screen, identify and explore the functions of ncRNAs. Providing valuable insights into the field of RNome in the context of cancer, this book is helpful to students, researchers and clinicians..

This issue of the Urologic Clinics provides a timely update on Renal Cancer and the evolving treatment standards in urology. Articles include Contemporary Imaging of the Renal Mass, Surgical Approach to Multifocal Renal Cancers, and Systemic Therapy Prior to Surgery. Effects of the various existing surgical approaches on long-term renal function is also discussed, along with a review of the current trends in surgical management of renal cancers with specific attention to utilization of laparoscopic approach, partial nephrectomy, ablative technologies and observation.

Molecular Genetic Pathology, Second Edition presents up-to-date material containing fundamental information relevant to the clinical practice of molecular genetic pathology. Fully updated in each area and expanded to include identification of new infectious agents (H1N1), new diagnostic biomarkers and biomarkers for targeted cancer therapy. This edition is also expanded to include the many new technologies that have become available in the past few years such as microarray (AmpliChip) and high throughput deep sequencing, which will certainly change the clinical practice of molecular genetic pathology. Part I examines the clinical aspects of molecular biology and technology, genomics. Poharmacogenomics and proteomics, while Part II covers the clinically relevant information of medical genetics, hematology, transfusion medicine, oncology, and forensic pathology. Supplemented with many useful figures and presented in a helpful bullet-point format, Molecular Genetic Pathology, Second Edition provides a unique reference for practicing pathologists, oncologists, internists, and medical genetisists. Furthermore, a book with concise overview of the field and highlights of clinical applications will certainly help those trainees, including pathology residents, genetics residents, molecular pathology fellows, internists, hematology/oncology fellows, and medical technologists in preparing for their board examination/certification.