Zen and the art of Cancer Research at #AACR10

[Rich66]

LINK

Here are some quick thoughts of the top of my head:

1. The cancer genome is now dominant and understanding the biology is very much a focus, even from manufacturers.
2. Free plasma DNA is going to be critical for biomarker research.
3. RNA seems appear in almost every other abstract (more later).
4. GWAS is becoming more relevant, highlighting distinct subsets of patients who can then be evaluated for prognosis, biomarkers, efficacy and tolerability differences.
5. Combination targeted therapy is the smart way to go to eliminate cross-talk, feedback and feedforward loops. They may also reduce some acquired resistance, at least for a time.
6. Dr Bert Vogelstein noted that there are currently 12 critical pathways that impact cancer cell survival. Understanding these more will lead to new and better therapies.
7. Despite all the above, cancer is a heterogeneous disease and much work still needs to be done in unravelling the mysteries behind it.

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