[Frontiers in Bioscience S3, 82-97, January 1, 2011]

Therapeutic advances in women's cancers

Amy R. Carroll1, Robert L. Coleman1,3, Anil K. Sood1, 2, 3

1Department of Gynecologic Oncology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, 2Department of Cancer Biology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, 3Center for RNAi and Non-Coding RNA, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Angiogenesis
3.1. VEGF and VEGF receptor
3.1.1. Bevacizumab
3.1.2. Other therapeutics against VEGF and the VEGF receptor
3.2. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)
4. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors
5. PTEN pathway
6. Emerging targets
7. Conclusion
8. Acknowledgements
9. References

1. ABSTRACT

Cytotoxic therapy and surgery have improved outcomes for patients with gynecologic malignancies over the last twenty years, but women's cancers still account for over ten percent of cancer related deaths annually. Insights into the pathogenesis of cancer have led to the development of drugs that target molecular pathways essential to tumor survival including angiogenesis, DNA repair, and apoptosis. This review outlines several of the promising new biologically targeted drugs currently being tested to treat gynecologic malignancies.