Editorial: Evidence is steadily accumulating that ... || FREE PAPER ||

Sanjay Awasthi

Professor of Biology and Associate Vice President for Clinical Research, University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, Medical Oncologist, Texas Oncology, Partner, US Oncology

Evidence is steadily accumulating that a large number of diseases in which historical therapies have made no significant impact in outcome are suddenly for the first time effectively treated to yield outcomes unimaginable with prior therapies. Because of the complexities of signaling mechanisms and variation in these mechanisms between disease processes, thorough and standardized testing of efficacy and toxicity in each predicted therapeutic indication remains mandatory. This is particularly true for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα)-targeting therapies, which may have a role in palliation of symptoms of a much more diverse array of diseases than perhaps previously foreseen, but can occasionally trigger very significant adverse effects due to complexity of signaling down-stream of TNFα.