Apoptosis and Cancer Chemotherapy

"This book provides a balanced view on the current knowledge on the relation between apoptosis and chemotherapy...The greatest merit of the book is to gather the different opinions about the relevance of apoptosis in chemosensitivity...Another positive aspect of this book is the effort made in having a relatively recent update presentation in most chapters, what is quite a remarkable achievement in a field where new molecules and pathways are continuously being discovered and described. Furthermore, the main concepts are discussed throughout this book in a balanced fashion, combining solid literature with some speculation, sometimes rather provocative as well...a book that pays off, since it provides an informative journey through a complex and interesting field. This book should be recommended not only for medical oncologists interested in molecular and mechanistic discussion about chemosensitivity, but also for basic scientists working in the field of drug-induced apoptosis."-Annals of Oncology "This book of 21 chapters is a clinically relevant assessment of the chemotherapeutic significance of apoptosis in cancer treatment...the chapters are well written, relatively up to date and reasonably well illustrated."-Cell Biology International "This book is of value to many scientists as a current reference to a complicated field. It also provides a balanced view of the field and warns investigators that complexity is the norm and over-simplification is a laboratory phenomenon."-Oncology "...This book is an excellent critical summary of where the field is today...This is an excellent book with up to date references useful to graduate students, clinicians and researchers who, in a few hours reading would gain a broad overview of the current field."-Today's Life Science "This volume represents the most comprehensive work devoted to the subject, and the editors have done an outstanding job of recruiting some of the most prominent researchers in the field...the book is an outstanding resource and should be extremely valuable to all investigators interested in cancer research."-Quarterly Review of Biology

• 1 Does Apoptosis Contribute to Tumor Cell Sensitivity to Anticancer Agents?.- 2 p53, Apoptosis, and Chemotherapy.- 3 The Role of p53 in Chemosensitivity.- 4 Function of the p53 Gene Family: A Holistic Perspective.- 5 Mismatch Repair Deficiency, Apoptosis, and Drug Resistance.- 6 Involvement of c-Abl Tyrosine Kinase in Apoptotic Response to Anticancer Agents.- 7 Bcl-2 Family Proteins: Relative Importance as Determinants of Chemoresistance in Cancer.- 8 Bax, a Death Effector Molecule: Its Role in Development and Oncogenesis.- 9 Bax, a Proapoptotic Protein Forming Channels in Mitochondria.- 10 Mechanism of Action of the Proapoptotic Gene Bak.- 11 Killers or Clean-Up Crew: How Central Are the Central Mechanisms of Apoptosis?.- 12 Role of CD95 (APO-1/Fas) System in Chemotherapy.- 13 Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Receptor as a Target for Anticancer Therapy.- 14 Drug Resistance and the Survival Niche: Survival Signals Combine to Suppress Drug-Induced Apoptosis in B-Lymphoma Cells.- 15 Chemotherapy, Tumor Microenvironment, and Apoptosis.- 16 Molecular Regulation and Therapeutic Implications of Cell Death in Prostate Cancer.- 17 Chemotherapy and Apoptosis in the Ovary: Cancer Treatment Comes with a Price.- 18 Role of Bcl-2 Family Members in Homeostasis, in Toxicology in Normal Intestine, and for Prognosis of Colonic Carcinomas.- 19 Apoptosis and Breast Cancer.- 20 Role of Apoptosis in Human Neuroblastomas.- 21 Response of Testicular Tumors to Chemotherapy: Relative Role of Drug—DNA Interactions and Apoptosis.- Concluding Remarks: Has the Information Explosion on Apoptosis Affected Clinical Practice?.