New targets and drugs in cancer chemotherapy

Cancer is still the number two cause of death in highly developed countries. Due to increased life expectancy, the number of cancer cases has also increased, and it is not likely that the incidence of this often fatal illness will decrease in the near future. Breast cancer, for instance, strikes 1 of 8 women in the industrialized world. Incidence of lung cancer increases due to smoking, while that of colon cancer increases with age. These are only a few examples highlighting the growing importance of strategies effective for cancer treatment. Despite surgical treatment and irradiation, chemotherapy remains one of the important means to treat cancer. Although many institutions and companies have tried to establish new treatment strategies such as immunotherapy or vaccination, the conventional chemotherapy still remains an important treatment option. In this review, we present an overview of new and innovative treatment strategies for cancer chemotherapy. A number of new targets as well as anticancer compounds are introduced and though we are well aware of the fact that the list is incomplete, we hope to be able to provide insight into this rapidly developing field. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel.