Molecular Biology of Cancer: Mechanisms, Targets, and Therapeutics | 
| Author: Lauren Pecorino
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $59.95
Buy New: $40.96
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 335113
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 7.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 0199211485
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.994071
EAN: 9780199211487
ASIN: 0199211485
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. Expected US delivery in 7-10 business days
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Product Description
Many of the cells in our body undergo tightly regulated replication to enable growth to occur and to ensure that damaged or worn out tissues are replaced. Regulation is mediated via many different mechanisms. It is when these mechanisms fail, and regulation is lost, that cancer can result. Recent advances in molecular cell biology have greatly expanded our understanding of the processes and mechanisms which underpin the regulation of cell replication, and what is happening at the molecular level when these fail.
Now in its second edition, The Molecular Biology of Cancer: Mechanisms, Targets, and Therapeutics gives a fresh approach to the study of the molecular basis of cancer. Written with the undergraduate student in mind, Lauren Pecorino focuses on how our understanding of the defective mechanisms which drive cancer is leading to the development of new targeted therapeutic agents.
Opening with an overview of the key hallmarks of cancer as a disease state, the book then leads us through the principal components of the regulatory machinery through which cell division is controlled and corrupted with the onset of cancer. Within each chapter, students are shown how this molecular knowledge is being applied to develop new targeted therapeutic strategies.
Ideal for courses in the molecular biology of cancer and cancer biology, The Molecular Biology of Cancer, Second Edition, is an invaluable resource for any student wishing to gain insight into the molecular basis of the disease and formulate possible solutions for its effective control.
New to this Edition
Updated research
Three brand new chapters:
- "The Cell Cycle": Gives extended treatment of this central aspect of cancer biology
- "Infections and Inflammation": Focuses on the relationship between infectious agents and inflammation and the onset of cancer
- "The Cancer Industry": Provides an overview of the process through which drugs are developed and tested
Enhanced coverage of apoptosis
Over 25 new figures plus a new color plate section
A new "How do we know that?" feature, in which experimental methods and results are discussed, thus shedding light on how our understanding of cancer biology is developed
An extended glossary
A companion website featuring additional resources for both instructors and students:
- For instructors, the site offers figures from the book available to download and a testbank of multiple-choice questions with feedback linked to the book for use in formative or summative assessment
- For students, the website features a web link library as well as hyperlinks to primary literature articles cited in the text
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| Customer Reviews:
Easy to read! April 2, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a good introduction to this field. The book is easy to read and have good drawings.
An Introduction to the Biology of Cancer - and More January 11, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'm one of those people who like to know how things work - especially if those things are inside my body and are likely to shorten my life span. Since my doctors don't tell me anything, I need other sources, and since the Internet is unreliable, I need a guidebook I can trust. Molecular Biology of Cancer turned out to be just the right book for me. It is also an excellent first book for anyone interested in the molecular biology of cancer.
First, as to technical level: This is very much what one expects in an undergraduate science text, with lots of section headings, lots of diagrams, and lots of boxes highlighting important points. If, like me, you're a non-student and non-scientist but interested in the subject, you'll probably find it very readable. You'll need to have some experience of reading diagrams in which symbols (squares, circles, etc.) represent molecules interacting with each other. And you'll have to be comfortable reading books with plenty of technical language. The terms specific to cancer biology should be no problem since they are well-explained and the terms that are in the glossary are printed in red in the text. You won't need to know anything about the chemistry involved in the molecular interactions (nothing about hydrogen bonding or redox, for example).
Some single-celled organisms can simply grow and divide as fast and as long as their food supply allows. Those that live in colonies must have chemical signals to regulate each cell's growth and activity. Mammals, being enormously more complex, need much more sophisticated communication between cells. That means, of course, that there are many things that can go wrong and many mechanisms to fix things that go wrong. And therefore, there are many things to be considered when diagnosing and treating cancer. Pecorino chooses particular examples to explain general principles.
First, a cell normally doesn't divide until a signal from outside sets off a chain of events that leads to division. An error in this chain, caused by an abnormal protein, can cause the cell to divide without the external signal. Pecorino chooses epidermal growth factor (EGF) to show the working of such a chain. When a cell does start to divide out of control, there are mechanisms which try to stop the reproduction, or to kill the cell. Pecorino focuses mostly on one molecule, called P53, which is involved in a number of such mechanisms and is abnormal in a majority of tumors, including mine. Most cells are fastened in place, so it takes a further abnormality for them to break loose. Since most cancers are caused by abnormal or inappropriately expressed genes, DNA repair and regulation are important. Here, Pecorino mentions the BRCA genes, which turn up often in articles about breast cancer. These are major topics, but there is much more than I can mention in an Amazon-size review.
So many genetic flaws don't show up all at once; a cancer is the product of evolution within one body. This is implicit in Molecular Biology of Cancer, but it is more developed in another book, Darwin in the Genome. (See my review for more info; click above on "See all my reviews".)
Given that there are so many molecular systems involved in cancer, one can see why there are many points at which drugs may inhibit or kill cancer cells. Pecorino points out a number of these. She even flags many these with red target icons, symbolizing potential drug targets. Perhaps by the time a student gets to be a researcher, most of these will be passe - a lot of people are working hard on them -- but her aim is to teach them how to spot potential target molecules and interactions and I think she succeeds.
Cancer can be of interest to people who aren't affected by it because, by showing what happens when things go wrong, it gives new insight into how these systems work in general. For those interested in developmental biology, it shows what happens inside a cell in response to a signal whereas most of the books I've read just mention the cellular interactions. Pecorino also gives examples of how a large variety of molecules may be created by mixing and matching a much smaller collection of simpler molecules or domains; this modularity is important in evolution.
So this book will be of interest to a variety of readers for a variety of reasons. Pecorino is particularly interested in students and hopes that some will be inspired by this book to take up cancer research. I second that and I hope that some will find metastatic prostate cancer to be a worthy field.
An excellent introductory book!!! May 5, 2006
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
I got this book for the Cancer Biology class.
It's an excellent book to start learning about cancer. It's well updated and includes all the recent advances. It could have included some extra stuff in my opinion, but anyway it's a great book. I like the "future therapeutics" part at the end of each chapter.
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