Editorial [Hot Topic: Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Cancer Therapy (Guest Editor: S. Eckhardt)]

The revolutionary discovery of the human genom opened novel approaches for understanding the malignant process. It is now generally accepted, that the neoplastic tissue is the result of a multistep genetic event induced by inherited and environmental factors. Each tumor cell is characterized by specific mutations. These genetic alterations are promising targets for inhibitory substances. Thus, such agents may be useful in cancer therapy. The primary task of this scientific journal is to inform the scientific community involved in cancer research on the most recent developments in the synthesis and availability of these targeted compounds, including preclinical findings. It is hard to follow the myriads of these agents derived from chemical libraries by robotical means. Day by day, new target mutations are published which might be candidate molecules for therapy. However, the additional task of our journal is also to choose “hot topics” discussing agents which are in the focus of research interest due to their exceptional antitumor potency. One such example is the group of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI-s). In the last decade these agents were gradually introduced into the treatment strategy of malignancies. By now, for some of these compounds (e.g. trastuzumab, imatinib, rituximab) sufficient amount of data were compiled to learn that after a drug sensitive period tumor cells are capable to produce resistance by various genetic mechanisms. In the same time new molecular techniques were introduced into the clinical practice, the aid of which one might predict the favourable effect of a potential drug. Some new questions also emerged like the possible interactions between TKI-s and other targeted agents or standard chemotherapy. A special adverse reaction profile of these enzyme inhibitors necessitated also intensive research. Furthermore, the rationale to use multitargeted vs. single agents needs detailed explanation as well. Consequently, a new generation of TKI-s arose in order to overcome the major difficulties listed above. Therefore this “hot topic issue” wants to inform the reader not only on the “old” but also on the “novel” compounds and to offer an overview of their actual state of development in the clinic. No doubt, that in the age of “translational research” such a survey is urgently needed especially for those, who are designing and producing effective anticancer drugs. In this issue four internationally recognized research groups are contributing to the present day TKI research. The authors of the first paper are J.Timar with B.Dome. Both are pathologists working at the National Institute of Oncology (NIO), Hungary, and the National Korányi Lung Institute , Budapest. Professor Timar is Head of the Tumor Progression Unit at the NIO and Editor of the prestigious “Pathology, Oncology , Research” journal. B .Dome is Assistant Professor working in the field of molecular genetics. Their views are focusing on the complex mechanisms existing between the metastasis formation and the TKI-s.The title of their paper is “Angiogenetic Drugs and Tyrosine Kinases”. The second paper was written by H. Yasui and K. Imai, who are working at the Sapporo Medical University (Japan). They are active both experimentally as well as clinically. Moreover, Professor Imai is author of an excellent overview on molecular targeted cancer therapy which was published 2006 in a very respected medical journal. Both authors took the responsibility to prepare an enlarged survey for this journal. Accordingly, they classified the most recent agents into three categories: molecules active on the cell surface, those inhibiting signaling pathways and compounds targeting cell survival. The title of their paper is “Novel Molecular Targeted Therapeutics for the Treatment of Cancer”....