Uveal Melanoma: A Model for Exploring Fundamental Cancer Biology |  | Creators: Martine J. Jager, J. Y. Niederkorn, Bruce R. Ksander
Publisher: Informa Healthcare
Category: Book
List Price: $129.00
Buy New: $116.00
You Save: $13.00 (10%)
New (6) Used (3) from $116.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 3319878
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 259
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.7
ISBN: 9026519621
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.99484
EAN: 9789026519628
ASIN: 9026519621
Publication Date: June 1, 2004
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular malignancy in adults and is characterized by aggressive metastases, which mainly develop hematogeneously. Little is known about the factors that predispose patients to develop this disease, although some factors such as skin pigmentation and the presence of multiple cutaneous nevi have been associated with an increased risk to develop uveal melanoma. The intraocular location of uveal melanoma offers excellent opportunities for visualization, and clinical study. While smaller tumors can be treated with eye-preserving therapies, larger tumors sometimes require enucleation of the eye. Since uveal melanomas are typically homogeneous, in contrast other malignancies, comparisons can be made between genetic, immunologic and histological tests on the same tumor. Many countries have excellent registries regarding the survival data of uveal melanoma patients. This has led to a series of studies correlating patient survival to various tumor parameters, such as chromosomal abnormalities, oncogene expression, and immunohistological parameters. The availability of several uveal melanoma cell lines has fostered novel in vitro and in vivo studies that have added to our knowledge about the immunology, genetics, and molecular biology of uveal melanoma. Among other findings, such studies have revealed that that uveal melanoma and cutaneous melanoma are remarkably different diseases. This book provides insights into some of these differences and summarizes recent developments regarding the basic research on biology and metastasis of uveal melanoma.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Biology of a Cure? June 18, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Why do some small and unremarkable primary uveal melanomas metastasize while larger, more invasive eye tumors do not?
What factors cause an existing choroidal nevus to transform into a choroidal melanoma? And how are those factors different from or similar to the ones that cause uveal melanomas to arise de novo (new)?
How on earth is it possible that the rates of incidence (the number of people diagnosed) and mortality (number of people dying) for uveal melanoma remain eerily unchanged for decades despite diagnosing and treatment advances?
Just what is uveal melanoma? More importantly, how do we successfully treat this rare and puzzling cancer?
This book does not answer any of these questions. So far, much of the research on uveal melanoma chromosomes, molecules and proteins has only confirmed long-standing clinical observations that tumor pigmentation, diameter, blood vessel morphology, cell type, race, and eye color influences its prevalence, progression and prognosis.
In other words, all this cellular research has merely affirmed on a genetic level what was already known on a clinical level.
Real progress will only be achieved when this genetic research is translated into improved patient outcomes - progress which appears decades away from reality.
If, as one of the authors argues, that uveal melanoma is "an excellent model for the study of cancer biology in general," than a more multi-disciplinary and-faceted approach is warranted. That kind of support is not only going to come from the lab but also from the larger community of medical professionals and their patients.
This was a fascinating book which ironically proves that research alone will not lead us to see a cure.
|
|
|
