Molecular targets for cancer prevention: a meeting review of the third American Cancer Society-Schilling Research Conference.

The American Cancer Society-Schilling Research Conference, held at Seascape, California, on October 26-29, 2000, convened over 25 experts in interdisciplinary fields to discuss the prospects for molecular targets of cancer prevention. Promising molecular targets fell into four main classes: (a) genes in which altered expression or activation drives induction of cancer and for which inhibitor drugs are commercially available; (b) genes in which altered expression or activation is shown to be causal in two or more models but for which inhibitor/modulator drugs are not commercially available; (c) molecular targets for which drugs are available but of which the causal significance is unknown; and (d) known and unknown molecular targets of preventive dietary modifications. Recent developments in genomics and proteomics have brought us to the threshold of an extraordinarily promising era in our battle to reduce the burden of cancer. Knowledge of genes that drive or prevent cancer progression and genes that specify cancer susceptibility should bring molecular-targeted interventions to the individuals who will benefit most.