Cancer pharmacology is the quintessence of bidirectional translational research, moving basic laboratory science into patients and, at the same time, moving clinical observations into the laboratory to achieve an optimal clinical outcome. It is fascinating to realize that this entire field grew out of the field of chemical warfare almost 80 years ago and has evolved over the last 30 years to exploit discrete molecular features of specific cancers and their microenvironmental milieu. Historically, the first anticancer agents targeted molecules that are critical to the overall process of cell replications in both normal and malignant cells and were relatively nondiscriminatory in their cytotoxicity. The first edition of Cancer Pharmacology followed the evolution of drug development from the traditional cytotoxic agents that target cell cycle–driving molecules to agents that target genetic, epigenetic, hormonal, and immunobiologic molecules. It had a unique format that comprised predominantly illustrations rather than relying on extensive written text, and addressed the challenges and opportunities presented by clinical trials design, development of biomarkers that predict response and survival, and issues related to ultimate drug approval. The rapid expansion of new targeted agents into the oncology armamentarium led to the development of the second edition with an increased clinical focus and many updates including recent approvals of molecularly targeted agents over the broad spectrum of both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The new edition expands and extensively updates the existing chapters, incorporates a new chapter on pharmacogenomics, and completely revises the previous chapters on targeted therapies, multiple myeloma as a paradigm for multi-targeted intervention, and transplant-related agents with a focus on graft versus host disease. The clinical pearls and multiple-choice questions have been updated for each chapter, with increased emphasis on questions relevant to board exams.
