The new society thrives to constitute a significant driving force towards the development of novel, microenvironment-related cancer therapy modalities. The second and the third “Tumor Microenvironment” conferences were held in Baden, Austria (2002) and in Prague, Czech Republic (2004). The fourth “Tumor Microenvironment” conference was held in Florence, Italy in 2007 in a joint venture with the American Association for Cancer Research. All four meetings met, in full, the intentions of the organizers to create a friendly forum that
promotes a critical review of novel basic findings and of innovative clinical CBL0137 ic50 studies pertaining to the TME. The scientific seeds planted in the TME field in the early seventies of the twentieth century, bore fruit which ripened about 10–15 years ago. The TME is increasingly recognized by cancer researchers as a pivotal factor in tumor progression and as a promising venue for drug discovery. Indeed many of the novel cancer therapy modalities interfere with tumor-microenvironment interactions. A point in case is drugs that inhibit signals delivered to tumor cells by microenvironmental growth factors via the corresponding receptors [115–133]. The influx of highly capable and
excellent scientists from several domains of biosciences into the TME field contributed significantly to the increased popularity of this field and to its becoming an innovative and stimulating research area. The establishment also fulfilled its share in the acceptance of the TME as an important factor in cancer development and progression. Compelling examples XAV-939 cost for this are statements by a former Director of NCI, Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach. In his update from December 2, 2003, he wrote: “the cancer cell is only part of the story in cancer development. Mounting evidence now suggests that a cancer cell interacts with
its local and systemic microenvironments, and each profoundly influences the behavior of the other. These tumor-host interactions permit, and even encourage, cancer progression. Two years ago, PLEKHM2 the National Cancer Institute identified the tumor microenvironment as a priority research area in an effort to expand our knowledge of the cells and factors that normally populate the microenvironment as well as to advance our understanding of how these microenvironment components interact with tumor cells”. Additional events that increased the impact of the TME research area were: The launching by the National Cancer Institute, NIH, of the Tumor Microenvironment Network Z-IETD-FMK in vitro initiative (TMEN) with the funding of ten Programs (http://tmen.nci.nih.gov/). The introduction of topics related to cancer microenvironment to the FP7-Health-2007 program of the European Commission. The establishment of the TME Working Group by the American Association for Cancer Research (http://www.aacr.org/home/scientists/working-groups–task-forces/tumor-microenvironment-working-group.aspx).