Current progress of cancer chemotherapy The Fifteenth International Symposium of the Hiroshima Cancer Seminar, October 2005

[...]Tahara, as ex‐Chief of Research of the Radiation Effect Research Foundation, pointed out that deaths from solid cancers are significantly increasing among atomic bomb survivors even though 2005 marks the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing. Since the establishment of the HCS Foundation in 1992, annual international symposia are organized to create an opportunity for basic scientists and clinical researchers to exchange ideas for cancer research, cancer prevention and cancer therapy. Patients treated with a combination had a significantly higher response rate, a longer progression‐free and median overall survival. [...]bevacizumab is regarded as an important combination for first‐line treatment. The probability of having a secondary resection depends on careful patient selection and the activity of the used chemotherapy regimen. [...]the median overall survival for patients with metastatic disease has been substantially improved over the last 20 years, with the possibility of cure in some patients suitable for secondary resection. Recently, Monden's group demonstrated that: (i) combination therapy inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis of HCC cells in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner; (ii) the Bcl‐2 family plays a key role in combination therapy–related apoptosis; (iii) inhibition of cell growth and induction of apoptosis were synergistic or additive but not antagonistic; (iv) IFNR expression was frequently observed on HCC cells; (v) upregulation of p27 and the expression of IFN receptor were the direct mechanisms of combination therapy–mediated antitumor effects.