gdc-0449 and Neoplasms--Squamous-Cell

Surgical treatment remains the standard of care for nonmelanoma skin cancer and is successful for the vast majority of patients with these tumors. The treatment of patients with metastatic or unresectable nonmelanoma skin cancer, however, has until recently been based solely on traditional methods of chemotherapy and radiation. However, these methods have high rates of treatment failure, morbidity, and mortality, and alternative treatment modalities for patients with aggressive or advanced disease are needed. As in other areas of cancer therapeutics, recent research elucidating the molecular basis of cancer development, and the subsequent arrival of targeted molecular inhibitors for cancer therapy, have been met with much excitement. In this review, we seek to illuminate recent developments and future possibilities in the use of targeted molecular inhibitors for treatment of advanced squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans.

Topics: Anilides; Antineoplastic Agents; Benzamides; Carcinoma; Carcinoma, Basal Cell; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Dermatofibrosarcoma; ErbB Receptors; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Imatinib Mesylate; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Neoplasms, Squamous Cell; Piperazines; Pyridines; Pyrimidines; Skin Neoplasms; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck