分子靶向治疗:肿瘤治疗的里程碑

Molecular Target Therapy:a Milestone on the Road for Curing Cancer

在上两个世纪里,肿瘤治疗出现过两次飞跃,一次是Halsted提出肿瘤根治术,另一次是Fish将化学治疗整合于根治术。此后,肿瘤治疗徘徊不前,直到分子靶向治疗出现。分子靶向治疗指使用小分子化合物、单克隆抗体、多肽等物质特异性干预调节肿瘤细胞生物学行为的信号通路,从而抑制肿瘤发展。临床实践证明,分子靶向治疗不仅能"杀灭肿瘤",而且能诱导肿瘤细胞向正常细胞分化而"治愈肿瘤",或通过抑制癌基因信号、延缓肿瘤肿瘤发展而使患者"带瘤生存",在将来有可能将恶性肿瘤转化成类似糖尿病、高血压的慢性病。本文概述了分子靶向治疗的理论基础、标志性成果和发展趋势。

Molecular target therapy （MTT）, using chemicals of low molecular weight, monoclonal antibodies, and/or polypeptides to interfere with specific signal pathways in cancer cells, causes inhibition of tumor progression. Clinical evidence has demonstrated that MTT has promising potential in not only killing tumors but also inducing tumor cells differentiate into normal cells, leading to cure of the patients. Furthermore, MTT leads to potent inhibition of oncogenic signals. The delay of tumor progression makes the patients ＂survival with tumor＂. Thus, in the future it is possible that cancer become a chronic disease much like diabetes and hypertension. This article reviewed the theory on molecular target therapy, its features and future direction.