Clinical Pharmacology & Biopharmaceutics
Open Access

Abstract

The original list of hallmarks includes self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to anti-growth signals, evading apoptosis, limitless replicative potential, sustained angiogenesis and tissue invasion and metastasis. This list has been recently extended from 6 to 10 with few more hallmarks emerging. In this paper, we concentrate on the second one (p53/microRNA-34a network in natural and therapeutic tumor suppression setting). Solving problems in system biology requires various approaches ranging from molecular processes up to the macro-organism, thus requires special attitude to handle these problems mathematically. The problem is widely different time scales at different levels of organization from molecules to macro-organism. Oncologic diseases are typical examples. Although there is an obvious progress in knowledge and treatment, the numbers of positively diagnosed patients are growing. As the oncologic diseases do not represent a single illness but a heterogeneous class of disorders with various causality and consequences, the quest for common attributes or effective prevention and therapy is a highly complicated task. Recent empiric procedures are frequently failing and leading only to suppression of symptoms. Similarly, our knowledge on prevention is coming from epidemiological studies based on previous observations. Meta-analysis of available data can help to identify some unexpected and therefore unattended interactions. Systemic analysis using simulated experiments and subsequent experimental (wet lab) verification may serve as a tool to search for complex therapeutic procedures. Understanding of malignant processes and their modeling will open new possibilities for more exact prediction of preventive or therapeutic approaches. The simulation of cancer should be considered as additional tool in the battlefield of war on cancer.

Biography

Email: ales.prokop@vanderbilt.edu