Novel Targeted Drugs for the Treatment of Lymphoma: The Biological Basis for Innovative Drug Discovery and Development

Over the past decade, there has been an explosion in the number of new drugs being developed for the treatment of cancer. This has become particularly true in the case of lymphoma. However, what frequently remains unclear to many is that this increase in new agents, and the often novel targets they affect, is a direct product of our never ending quest to understand the fundamentals of cancer cell biology. Targeting these unique pathogenetic mechanisms is the most attractive strategy for altering the natural history of any malignancy, and the pace at which we are clarifying this biology is truly daunting. One of the primary goals of Novel Targeted Drugs for the Treatment of Lymphoma is to emphasize this new biology, allowing it it become the cornerstone for understanding how and why these novel agents are moving rapidly into the mainstream of patient care. Each section starts with a comprehensive chapter on the important aspects of the relevant biology, written by an authority in that field. Subsequent chapters focus on discrete agents, and how they establish the 'proof of principle'. Every effort is made to present a fair and unbiased account of those agents, with particular attention being paid to those compounds that appear the most differentiated. Well organized and easy to read, this book is a valuable resource for all practitioners in the field.