Abstract
In this month's issue of the Journal we focus on cancer pharmacotherapy. The articles provide insights into the current scientific basis of recently available and potential anti-cancer drugs, and discuss the current and future challenges in using classical cytotoxica and molecularly targeted anti-cancer drugs. Over the past decade the explosion in new and potential anti-cancer drugs has had its foundation in an increased scientific understanding of the biology of cancer [1]. The current oncology drug pipeline of the pharmaceutical industry contains nearly 400 small molecules and biological modifiers undergoing clinical development [2]. Optimal anti-cancer drug treatment, whether it involves the use of classical cytotoxic agents or novel molecularly targeted anti-cancer drugs, will require oncologists to incorporate into their therapeutic decisions up-to-date knowledge of the factors that contribute to the variability in human drug response [3–6]. The therapeutic armamentarium of 21st century oncologists when compared with that of the earliest physicians, or for that matter with that available in the mid 20th century, has a greater number of drugs, is more complex, uses many multi-drug combinations and continues to expand.
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