Hyperthermic Biology and Cancer TherapiesA Hypothesis for the 'Lance Armstrong Effect'

摘要

THERE IS PERHAPS NO MORE IMPORTANT QUESTION IN cancer research than to understand the molecular basis of how the majority of patients with testicu-lar cancer can be treated so effectively. For instance, how could Lance Armstrong, who was diagnosed with very advanced metastatic testicular cancer, be treated so successfully that he could subsequently win multiple grueling Tours de France? Although such therapeutic success is now common for many patients with this type of advanced testicular cancer, this type of outcome is unattainable for the majority of patients with other types of advanced solid tumors. What accounts for the astounding therapeutic success with testicular cancer, and can this outcome be explained both at the cellular and molecular levels? Understanding the basis for the "Lance Armstrong effect" may provide therapeutic targets to enhance cures of other common advanced solid tumors that remain so refractory to the best systemic treatments