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Leveraging the species barrier to advance cancer therapy

Nature Genetics volume 45, pages 718–720 (2013)Cite this article

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The discovery of new therapeutic targets and the personalization of treatments are two active areas of cancer research. New studies suggest that a 'co-clinical' approach may expedite both therapeutic target validation and risk stratification in patients with advanced prostate cancer.

The pathway leading to the successful development of effective cancer therapeutics is steep and littered with hazards and obstacles. Yet, the destination is highly rewarding, with the promises of extended survival and improved quality of life for patients with cancer. Drug development in oncology requires the identification of key targets underlying tumor vulnerability and the investment of considerable resources to advance compounds through rigorous assessments of efficacy and tolerability. Because these steps are often time-consuming, approaches that can accelerate the process and expedite the identification of targets and agents with a very high likelihood of meaningful clinical impact are sorely needed.

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Figure 1: Schematic of the cross-species approach for identifying and evaluating therapeutic targets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Song Zhao and Peter S. Nelson are in the Divisions of Human Biology and Clinical Research, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.,

    Song Zhao & Peter S Nelson

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  1. Song Zhao
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  2. Peter S Nelson
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Correspondence to Peter S Nelson.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Zhao, S., Nelson, P. Leveraging the species barrier to advance cancer therapy. Nat Genet 45, 718–720 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.2683

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