W. Tilgen – författare

This volume provides a comprehensive, highly readable overview of the topics discussed at the First International Symposium on "Vitamin D Analogs in Cancer Prevention and Therapy" held in Homburg/Saar, Germany in May 2002. Leading researchers discuss our present knowledge of the vitamin D system in cancer. Topics range from the newest findings in molecular biology, epidemiology, synthesis and metabolism of vitamin D to new concepts for the use of vitamin D analogs in cancer prophylaxis and treatment. The book provides essential up-to-date information for every researcher or clinician interested in the biology of vitamin D or cancer.

Over the past 50 years many in vitro and in vivo drug response assay systems have been developed to determine the potential - tivity of chemotherapy agents. The idea was to eliminate ineffective agents and unnecessary toxic treatment while selecting drugs active in vitro or in the mouse model that might increase the probability of response in the patient. None of these test models, however, achieved routine clinical application in the past. This might be at least in part - lated to large discrepancies that were described between the s- cess rate of the assay systems and the clinical benefit in cancer - tients. The heterogeneity of chemosensitivity that exists between different tumors as well as between individual tumor lesions may be one explanation for these findings. Furthermore, different assay end points such as proliferation, metabolism, and vitality were - veloped to evaluate the effects of cytostatic drugs on tumor cells, and these might be related to the differing results. However, knowledge about procedures for assay-assisted treatment selection has increased rapidly within the past few years, and several studies suggest that test-directed chemotherapy selection now may - prove response rates and survival in various types of tumors. The International Society for Chemosensitivity Testing in - cology (ISCO) was founded to promote, coordinate, and improve clinical and laboratory research in the field of predictive drug te- ing in human tumor cells.

 

This volume provides a comprehensive, highly readable overview of the topics discussed at the First International Symposium on "Vitamin D Analogs in Cancer Prevention and Therapy" held in Homburg/Saar, Germany in May 2002. Leading researchers discuss our present knowledge of the vitamin D system in cancer. Topics range from the newest findings in molecular biology, epidemiology, synthesis and metabolism of vitamin D to new concepts for the use of vitamin D analogs in  cancer prophylaxis and treatment. The book provides essential up-to-date information for every researcher or clinician interested in the biology of vitamin D or cancer.

Knowledge about diagnostic procedures in melanoma has in­ creased rapidly within the past few years. Single tumor cells have been identified in normal tissue such as sentinel lymph nodes, as well as in bone marrow, peripheral blood, and other bodily fluids and cells, by molecular technologies. The introduction of polymerase chain reaction-based methods can be regarded as a prototype of this dramatic development towards molecular approaches in new diagnostic procedures. This fact opens up the possibility of clinical use in patients and of influencing treatment strategies. Considerable discrepancies have been described, how­ ever, in the success rates of these new techniques for the detec­ tion of minimal residual disease in cancer patients. Despite fav­ orable results reported by different groups of investigators, it will take several years to define the clinical and pathophysiological relevance of new diagnostic procedures. The 1st International Symposium "Minimal Residual Disease in Melanoma: Biology, Detection and Clinical Relevance of Microme­ tastases", held in September 1999 in Homburg/Saar, Germany, fo­ cused on recent developments in this particular area of cancer re­ search. The purpose of the meeting was to stimulate discussion and exchange of new data and ideas by renowned international scientists. The aim of this volume is to summarize major topics of basic research and clinical investigations presented by invited experts in this fascinating but still. controversial field of melanoma re­ search.

This volume provides a comprehensive, highly readable overview of the topics discussed at the First International Symposium on "Vitamin D Analogs in Cancer Prevention and Therapy" held in Homburg/Saar, Germany in May 2002. Leading researchers discuss our present knowledge of the vitamin D system in cancer. Topics range from the newest findings in molecular biology, epidemiology, synthesis and metabolism of vitamin D to new concepts for the use of vitamin D analogs in  cancer prophylaxis and treatment. The book provides essential up-to-date information for every researcher or clinician interested in the biology of vitamin D or cancer.

Knowledge about diagnostic procedures in melanoma has in­ creased rapidly within the past few years. Single tumor cells have been identified in normal tissue such as sentinel lymph nodes, as well as in bone marrow, peripheral blood, and other bodily fluids and cells, by molecular technologies. The introduction of polymerase chain reaction-based methods can be regarded as a prototype of this dramatic development towards molecular approaches in new diagnostic procedures. This fact opens up the possibility of clinical use in patients and of influencing treatment strategies. Considerable discrepancies have been described, how­ ever, in the success rates of these new techniques for the detec­ tion of minimal residual disease in cancer patients. Despite fav­ orable results reported by different groups of investigators, it will take several years to define the clinical and pathophysiological relevance of new diagnostic procedures. The 1st International Symposium "Minimal Residual Disease in Melanoma: Biology, Detection and Clinical Relevance of Microme­ tastases", held in September 1999 in Homburg/Saar, Germany, fo­ cused on recent developments in this particular area of cancer re­ search. The purpose of the meeting was to stimulate discussion and exchange of new data and ideas by renowned international scientists. The aim of this volume is to summarize major topics of basic research and clinical investigations presented by invited experts in this fascinating but still. controversial field of melanoma re­ search.

The detection of cancer risk factors and their possible avoid­ ance would most effectively contribute to the fight against cancer. Research in these areas depends to a substantial degree on in vivo experimental animal models and on epide­ miologic studies, including data from cancer registries. When the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum was founded in 1964, its division "Mechanisms of Tumorigenesis" and a number of other divisions became engaged in research on chemical carcinogenesis of the skin, mainly using the mouse skin as an experimental model. Their interest orig­ inated in part from investigations of the new and at that time controversial pathogenic principle of conditional car­ cinogens as represented by certain tumor promoters which are per se noncarcinogenic. During the past 25 years, conditional carcinogens in terms of tumor promoters were established as anew, nonclassical category of cancer risk factors besides the classical solitary carcinogens. In the course of this exciting period, scientists of our center started cooperative programs with clinical dermato­ logists of the University of Heidelberg at the Clinics of Dermatology in Heidelberg and Mannheim, to extend the scope of their investigations into clinical oncology and to contribute by experimental approaches to solving problems in clinical oncology. This led to a gradual shift from mere animal studies to the more direct analyses of human tumors and opened up for us a new phase of research.

The detection of cancer risk factors and their possible avoid­ ance would most effectively contribute to the fight against cancer. Research in these areas depends to a substantial degree on in vivo experimental animal models and on epide­ miologic studies, including data from cancer registries. When the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum was founded in 1964, its division "Mechanisms of Tumorigenesis" and a number of other divisions became engaged in research on chemical carcinogenesis of the skin, mainly using the mouse skin as an experimental model. Their interest orig­ inated in part from investigations of the new and at that time controversial pathogenic principle of conditional car­ cinogens as represented by certain tumor promoters which are per se noncarcinogenic. During the past 25 years, conditional carcinogens in terms of tumor promoters were established as anew, nonclassical category of cancer risk factors besides the classical solitary carcinogens. In the course of this exciting period, scientists of our center started cooperative programs with clinical dermato­ logists of the University of Heidelberg at the Clinics of Dermatology in Heidelberg and Mannheim, to extend the scope of their investigations into clinical oncology and to contribute by experimental approaches to solving problems in clinical oncology. This led to a gradual shift from mere animal studies to the more direct analyses of human tumors and opened up for us a new phase of research.