Common cancers exhibit a frustratingly wide range of variability. While two tumors may look identical from a standard diagnostic panel, the set of pathways and mutations driving the proliferation of cancer cells within those tumors may differ greatly.
As a result, the same therapy may work for one patient and prove futile for the next. Even if the same therapy works for both, the internal variability of the cancers will likely spawn different adaptations and resistance over time. Andy Dorner, senior director of molecular medicine at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, calls this phenomenon a “Darwinian evolution of the tumor in the person toward therapy resistance, and ultimately survival and relapse of the patient.”
Dorner is leading the charge to use biology and biomarkers to improve the success rate of initial oncology therapies, as well as to prevent the recurrence of therapy-resistant cancer cells. He’ll be speaking about his work and future directions at eyeforpharma’s Personalized & Translational Medicine Summit 2010, held in Boston, MA, September 20th and 21st. Listen to the podcast below to get a preview of his talk.
