Molecular Biology of Cancer: Mechanisms, Targets and Therapeutics
Key staff: Dr Lauren Pecorino
Dr Pecorino was commissioned by Oxford University Press to write the first text linking molecular processes underpinning cancer to the development of therapeutics. She uses the text in the teaching of the final year university course Cancer Biology, and for some MSc lectures.
The book, Molecular Biology of Cancer: Mechanisms, Targets, and Therapeutics offers a fresh approach to the study of the molecular basis of cancer, and shows how our understanding of the defective mechanisms driving cancer is leading to the development of targeted therapeutic agents. The key hallmarks of cancer as a disease state, the principal components of the regulatory machinery through which cell division is controlled, and the way in which the failure of these components can lead to the onset of cancer, are all addressed, drawing on the latest research. Each chapter ends with a description of the application of our knowledge to the development of new targeted therapies. Aspects of Dr Pecorino’s teaching method are illustrated by special features presented throughout the book, such as “Pause and think” and “How do we know that?” The second edition of this book has been published and will be translated into other languages.