Douglas W. McMillin

TL;DR: Progress in in vitro screening platforms as well as orthotopic and 'orthometastatic' xenograft mouse models has enabled comprehensive characterization of the impact of the tumour microenvironment on therapeutic efficacy, which can hopefully bridge the gap between preclinical studies and clinical trials of anticancer agents.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that Akt down-regulation by Akt knockdown and the inhibitor perifosine leads to significant inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in WM cells in vitro, but not in normal donor peripheral blood and hematopoietic progenitors.

TL;DR: BEZ235 treatment decreased the amplitude of transcriptional signatures previously associated with myc, ribosome, and proteasome function, as well as high-risk MM and undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells, and indicates that BEZ235 merits clinical testing, alone and in combination with other agents, in multiple myeloma.

TL;DR: Recent progress is summarized in characterization, at the molecular and cellular levels, of how the BM milieu interacts with MM cells and modifies their biologic behavior.

TL;DR: These data provide both insights into the molecular mechanisms of antitumor activity of proteasome inhibitors and the rationale for future clinical trials of bortezomib, alone or in combination with conventional chemotherapy, to improve patient outcome in medullary and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas.