Mechanisms of progression to hormone-independent growth of breast and prostatic cancer [antikvár]

A large number of hormones and growth factors play a role in the growth regulation of many different tumor types. Not only can the growth of the 'classical' hormone-dependent tumors, i.e. breast and prostate cancer, be changed by endocrine manipulations but alsó the growth of series of other tumor types can be influenced. Growth inhibitory efifects of endocrine therapy have been described in patients with prostate cancer, breast cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian tumors, (ad)renal cancer, endocrine gastroenteropancreatic tumors, pancreatic and colorectal adenocarcinomas, hepatocellular carcinomas, thyroidal tumors, pituitary tumors and meningiomas. It is to be expected that, for patients with lung cancer, endocrine therapies or therapies directed towards growth factor-receptor interactions will be developed in the near future. This extension of the number of endocrine therapies, the increase of clinical indications, and the recognized low toxicity of endocrine therapy when compared to chemotherapy underline the importance of endocrine therapy in the treatment of patients with cancer. In Rotterdam, the Netherlands, endocrinology is one of the major research interests. Several research groups at the medical faculty of the Erasmus University, the academic hospitál 'Dijkzigt' and the Rotterdam Cancer Institute (The Dr Dániel den Hoed Cancer Center) are involved in research with special emphasis on the endocrine aspects of cancer. The investigators of these groups participate in the Rotterdam Cooperative Group on Hormones and Cancer. In order to stimulate intensive feed-back and exchange of interesting findings, a workshop organized by Prof. F.H. Schröder was held in Wassenaar on April 20,1990. This meeting dealt mainly with prostate and breast cancer, these two tumor types being responsible for one-quarter of new cancer patients every year in the Western world. One of the main topics was the progression to hormone-independent growth of these tumors. Seminars were presented and discussed by investigators specializing in this field. This volume contains the papers based on these presentations and discussions. The chapters include a generál introduction on clinical parameters for transition to hormoné independency, followed by several chapters on possible factors associated with progression from hormoné dependency to hormoné independency, and models to study this progression. We hope that this book will be of value to other people interested in the growth regulation and treatment of prostate and breast cancer.