Insight
Nature 441, 451-456 (25 May 2006) | doi:10.1038/nature04873; Published online 24 May 2006
Validating cancer drug targets
John D. Benson1, Ying-Nan P. Chen1, Susan A. Cornell-Kennon1, Marion Dorsch1, Sunkyu Kim1, Magdalena Leszczyniecka1, William R. Sellers1 and Christoph Lengauer1
Abstract
A cancer drug target is only truly validated by demonstrating that a given therapeutic agent is clinically effective and acts through the target against which it was designed. Nevertheless, it is desirable to declare an early-stage drug target as 'validated' before investing in a full-scale drug discovery programme dedicated to it. Although the outcome of validation studies can guide cancer research programmes, strictly defined universal validation criteria have not been established.
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Correspondence to: Correspondence should be addressed to C.L. (Email: christoph.lengauer@novartis.com).
