Differentiation therapy

Differentiation therapy is an approach to treating advanced cancers in which malignant cells are encouraged to differentiate into more mature forms using pharmacological agents. The basis of the therapy stems from the tendency of malignant tumor cells to assume a less specialized, stem cell-like dedifferentiated state.[1] The first differentiation agent found to be successful was all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Sell, Stewart. (2004). "Stem cell origin of cancer and differentiation therapy.". Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology 51.1 (2004): 1-28.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, December 12, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.