Expert review of anticancer therapy
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Expert Rev Anticancer Ther · Jul 2006
ReviewChemotherapy resistance in osteosarcoma: current challenges and future directions.
For patients with osteosarcoma, the use of chemotherapy has improved survival from 11% with surgical resection alone in the 1960s, to 70% by the mid-1980s. However, survival has since plateaued, despite advances in anticancer therapy. Elucidation of the mechanisms of chemoresistance and implementation of strategies to overcome chemoresistance will likely be pivotal to improving survival. In this review, the focus is on the current understanding of the mechanisms of resistance to the most commonly used agents in the treatment of osteosarcoma and the methods employed to overcome chemotherapy resistance.
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Primary glioblastoma multiforme is an aggressive brain tumor that has no cure. Current treatments include gross resection of the tumor, radiation and chemotherapy. Despite valiant efforts, prognosis remains dismal. ⋯ Currently, these are being tested in relevant preclinical models and clinical trials as a therapeutic modality for many types of cancer. Results from recent clinical trials with oncolytic viruses have revealed the safety of this approach, although evidence for efficacy remains elusive. Oncolytic viral strategies are summarized in this review, with a focus on therapies used in brain tumors.