ABSTRACT
The significant insights gained in recent years into the molecular processes underlying the malignant state are making possible the development of new, more specific classes of antineoplastic agents. Together with the availability of sophisticated diagnostic technology such as DNA array analysis, it is becoming feasible to fashion drug programs that will be tumor specific and less toxic for the patient. There are, however, major obstacles to be overcome. DNA array technology is still early in its development and there remain problems in reproducibility, cost, and clinical correlation. The whole field of drug discovery is hampered by a drug approval
process that is out of date and not attuned to what is required at the clinical evaluation stage. Emphasis on unwieldy and time consuming clinical trials makes it very difficult to develop drug combination protocols in a timely manner. Finally, the biomedical community has been slow to consider the implications that many types of cancer may have as their necessary cause infectious agents, including both viruses and bacteria.
