Increasing knowledge in molecular and cellular biology along with improved
imaging technology and surgical instruments has resulted in huge advances in cancer
therapy. The understanding of several cellular signaling pathways has laid the solid
foundation for the development of targeted chemotherapy, which in turn, has played critical
roles in increasing the survival rates of many types of cancer during the last decade. As a
consequence, molecular diagnostic tests have emerged as an important step in order to plan
the most appropriate treatment strategies for each case. In this chapter, we will describe
classical examples of targeted cancer therapies and illustrate how similar approaches could
benefit the treatment of yet incurable neurodegenerative diseases.
Keywords: DNA, genome, mutations, polymorphism, risk factors, biomarker,
targeted therapy, drug discovery, prevention, early intervention, cancer,
personalized medicine, molecular diagnosis, molecular and cellular biology,
neurodegenerative diseases, amyloid precursor protein, α-synuclein,
apolipoprotein E, Aβ-peptide clearance, Alzheimer´s disease, Parkinson´s disease.
