Therapeutic Progress in Oncology

Jacques Barbet is an advisor for the management of the Arronax GIP (Groupement d'Intérêt Public) in France. Prior to this, he was a Research Director at the CNRS.Adrien Foucquier is a scientific editor, specialized in chemistry, epistemology and philosophy of science. He often writes for the science magazine La Recherche.Yves Thomas is Emeritus Professor at the École Polytechnique de l'Université de Nantes, France, and an advisor for the management of the Arronax GIP.

• Preface ixAcknowledgments xiIntroduction xiiiChapter 1. Genomics and Epigenetics 11.1. DNA, RNA and genetic code 11.2. Sequencing and genomics 51.3. Transcriptome and proteome 101.4. Epigenetics, the missing link 13Chapter 2. Overview of Cancer Chemotherapy 192.1. The introduction of an innovative method 202.2. Nitrogen mustards, the first revival 212.3. Anti-metabolites, the potential for chemotherapy finally revealed 252.4. Natural products in the first line 282.4.1. Antimitotic agents 282.4.2. Topoisomerase inhibitors 302.5. Cisplatin and organoplatin derivatives 322.6. An evolving therapeutic approach 342.6.1. Combinatorial chemotherapy 352.6.2. Adjuvant chemotherapy 362.7. Targeted therapies 38Chapter 3. Immunology and the Immune System 413.1. From variolation to vaccination 423.2. The hegemony of the humoral theory 443.2.1. Instructive theory versus selective theory 453.2.2. Determining the chemical nature of antibodies 473.3. Towards a conciliation between cell theory and humoral theory 483.4. A complex and specific mode of action of a so-called adaptive immunity in collaboration with an innate immunity 513.4.1. The study of organ transplants for a better understanding of the immune system 513.4.2. The predominant role of MHC molecules on T cell reactivity 553.4.3. Other membrane molecules with a key role 563.4.4. B lymphocytes and antibody production 573.4.5. A collaboration with innate immunity 593.4.6. Cytokines, immune system messengers 603.5. Summary of innate and adaptive immune responses 61Chapter 4. The Development of Immunotherapy 634.1. Immunosuppressive treatments for graft tolerance 634.2. Hybridoma techniques for the production of monoclonal antibodies 654.3. Towards an understanding of the immune response (anti- and pro-tumor) 684.3.1. Demonstration of the influence of the immune system on tumor activity 684.3.2. From the theory of immune surveillance to the “3 Es” theory 694.3.3. Antitumor factors 704.3.4. Protumor factors 714.4. Antitumor immunotherapy 724.4.1. From Coley toxin to bone marrow and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation 724.4.2. From T-cell cultures to antitumor vaccines 744.4.3. Monoclonal antibodies: from rituximab to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) 754.4.4. Radioimmunotherapy 764.5. A promising path tending towards improvement 78Chapter 5. The Maturation of Artificial Intelligence 795.1. From Babbage machines to the universal Turing machine 805.2. Cybernetics, for an association between machine and physiology: towards the development of the first neural network 825.2.1. Cybernetics… 825.2.2. … to connectionism 835.2.3. The perceptron, an application of connectionism 845.3. Cognitivism and the true emergence of artificial intelligence 865.3.1. From the Logic Theorist… 875.3.2. …to the LISP Language 885.4. From optimism to the first crisis 895.4.1. AI in a new momentum 895.4.2. Technical and theoretical limits finally revealed 905.5. Expert systems, a renewed interest in AI 925.6. The return of neural networks: an optimal method of automatic learning? 945.6.1. A renewal of the structure and method of learning 945.6.2. Different types of machine learning 975.6.3. A new wave of hope generated by neural networks and other learning techniques 985.7. A new crisis before a decisive rebound 1005.7.1. A technological context not yet adapted 1005.7.2. A set of factors at the origin of the Big Data era 1015.8. Deep learning, an association between Big Data and neural networks: AI in another dimension 1035.8.1. An evolution of structure and power 1035.8.2. Convolutional networks, surprising performance 1045.8.3. A wide range of applications as a trigger for investments 1065.8.4. AI as an aid to oncology 108Chapter 6. The Evolution of Cancer Therapy 1116.1. Cancer surgery 1116.1.1. Conventional surgery 1136.1.2. So-called “minimally invasive” surgery 1136.1.3. Image-guided surgery 1146.1.4. Cryosurgery 1146.1.5. Radiofrequency ablation 1146.1.6. Laser surgery 1156.1.7. Robotic surgery 1156.2. External beam radiotherapy (or external beam radiation therapy) 1176.3. Great innovations in one formula 1216.4. Genomics and epigenetics 1226.5. The new therapies of the 21st Century 1246.5.1. Targeted therapies: the use of small inhibitory molecules (-nib) 1256.5.2. The use of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) 1266.5.3. CAR T-cells (Chimeric Antigen Receptor) for customized medicine 1286.5.4. Vaccine therapies 1306.5.5. Targeted radionuclide therapy 1316.6. Theranostics 1336.6.1. The evolution of medical imaging 1336.6.2. The theranostic approach, for a predictive and personalized medicine 1376.7. Artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data 1406.8. “In fine” 145Conclusion 147List of Abbreviations 161References 169Index 177