European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Workshop Problems and Prospects in Current Therapeutic Application of Molecular Biology1

The meeting began with each participant introducing their research experience and interests. Although there was a great range in activities, some overlapping areas were noteworthy. Laboratories were (a) converging to investigate biochemical aspects of the expression and physiological role of cellular oncogenes, including their inappropriate activation by DNAreactive agents, and their possible relevance to both the causa tion and the clinical diagnosis and treatment of certain human cancers; (b) developing Mabs2 to gene products, particularly if regulatory functions of these products had been unraveled, for example as growth factors or growth factor receptors; and (c) investigating the role of (immunological) cytokines in relation to leukemogenesis and tumorigenesis as well as for cancer therapy. From a clinical point of view the relevance of this area to chemotherapy and to the problem of cytotoxic drugs was examined. Rather than providing a comprehensive coverage of current therapeutic applications of molecular biology, the workshop focused on specific important topics to stimulate discussion between clinical and experimental scientists on issues relevant to therapy.