The platinum-containing chemotherapeutic agents remain key components of many of the most effective regimens for the treatment of cancer. New information about the chemistry, pharmacology and molecular mechanisms by which these drugs work is leading to both the development of new drugs and more effective use of existing members of this class. Better definition of the genetic basis of malignancies is offering intriguing new insights in to how to use these drugs in a more individualized manner. "Platinum and Other Heavy Metal Compounds in Cancer Chemotherapy: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications", edited by Andrea Bonetti, Steve B. Howell, Roberto Leone, and Franco Muggia, provides succinct summaries of the major new developments in field of platinum drug therapy drawn from presentations made at the 10th International Symposium on Platinum Coordination Compounds in Cancer Chemotherapy that took place in Verona, Italy, in December 2007. This meeting, held once every 4 years, brought together the world's leading investigators working on platinum drugs and their contributions provide a detailed survey of the major research directions in this rapidly evolving field.

Zusammenfassung
Cisplatin, the first member of the family of platinum-containing chemotherapeutic agents, was discovered by Barnett Rosenberg in 1965 and approved by the FDA for marketing in 1978. After 30 years of use in the clinic, cisplatin remains a central element of many treatment regimens. Cisplatin is still an irreplaceable component of a regimen that produces high cure rates in even advanced nonseminomatous germ-cell cancers, and is widely used in the treatment of ovarian cancers and other gynecologic cancers, head and neck, and numerous other tumor types. The development of carboplatin has reduced some of the adverse events associated with cisplatin treatment, and the introduction of the DACH platinum compound oxaliplatin has broadened the spectrum of activity of the platinums to include gastro-intestinal cancers, especially colorectal cancer. The clinical importance of this family of drugs continues to drive investigation into how these drugs work and how to improve their efficacy and reduce their toxicity. The papers in this volume were presented in Verona, Italy, during the tenth International Symposium on Platinum Coordination Compounds in Cancer Chemotherapy. The symposium was jointly organized by the Department of Oncology of the Mater Salutis Hospital Azienda Sanitaria Locale 21 of the Veneto Region and by the Department of Medicine and Public Health, Section of Pharmacology, the University of Verona. They reflect the vitality of this field and the increasing use of new molecular and cell biologic, genetic, and biochemical tools to identify approaches to further improve their use.

Inhalt
Novel Platinum Analogues, Original Formulations and Other Heavy Metals.- Platinum Compounds: The Culmination of the Era of Cancer Chemotherapy.- Studies on New Platinum Compounds.- Assessment of the In Vivo Antiproliferative Activity of a Novel Platinum Particulate Pharmacophore.- Nanocapsules of Platinum-Based Anticancer Drugs.- The Design and Development of the Tumor-Targeting Nanopolymer Dach Platinum Conjugate AP5346 (Prolindac™).- In vitro Anti-proliferative Effects of ProLindac™, a Novel Dach-Platinum-Linked Polymer Compound, as a Single Agent and in Combination with Other Anti-cancer Drugs.- Synthesis of Cisplatin Analogues: Cytotoxic Efficacy and Anti-tumour Activity of Bis-Amidine and Bis-Iminoether Pt(II) Complexes.- Ruthenium Drugs for Cancer Chemotherapy: An Ongoing Challenge to Treat Solid Tumours.- X-ray Crystal Structure of a Monofunctional PlatinumDNA Adduct, cis-{Pt(NH3)2-(Pyridine)}2+ Bound to Deoxyguanosine in a Dodecamer Duplex.- Osmium Arenes: A New Class of Potential Anti-cancer Agents.- Cellular Transport and Intracellular Trafficking of Platinum Compounds.- Resistance to Cisplatin Results from Multiple Mechanisms in Cancer Cells.- CTR1 as a Determinant of Platinum Drug Transport.- Regulation of the Export of Platinum-Containing Drugs by the Copper Efflux Transporters ATP7A and ATP7B.- Altered Localization of Transport Proteins Associated with Cisplatin Resistance.- How to Overcome Cisplatin Resistance Through Proton Pump Inhibitors.- Cellular Resistance to Oxaliplatin and Drug Accumulation Defects.- Possible Incorporation of Free N7-Platinated Guanines in DNA by DNA Polymerases, Relevance for the Cisplatin Mechanism of Action.- DNA Damage and Signal Transduction: Recognition/Repair And Cell-Response.- Structural and Mechanistic Studies ofAnticancer Platinum Drugs: Uptake, Activation, and the Cellular Response to DNA Binding.- Platinum Drugs and DNA Repair: Lessons from the NCI Panel and Clinical Correlates.- Differences in Conformation and Conformational Dynamics Between Cisplatin and Oxaliplatin DNA Adducts.- Regrowth Resistance: Low-Level Platinum Resistance Mediated by Rapid Recovery from Platinum-Induced Cell-Cycle Arrest.- Targeting Nucleotide Excision Repair as a Mechanism to Increase Cisplatin Efficacy.- CHK2 and ERCC1 in the DNA Adduct Repair Pathway that Mediates Acquired Cisplatin Resistance.- Modulation of Survival Pathways in Ovarian Carcinoma Cells Resistant to Platinum Compounds.- Paraptotic Cell Death Induced by the Thioxotriazole Copper Complex A0: A New Tool to Kill Apoptosis-Resistant Cancer Cells.- Clinical Applications.- Platinum Compounds and Radiation.- Treating Cisplatin-Resistant Cancer: A Systematic Analysis of Oxaliplatin or Paclitaxel Salvage Chemotherapy.- Platinum Compounds in Lung Cancer: Current Status.- Is Lipoplatinum Monotherapy an Active Alternative in Second Line Treatment of Metastatic NonSmall Cell Lung Cancer? A Phase II Trial.- Combining Platinums in Gastric Cancer.- Oxaliplatin-Based Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer.- First-Line Systemic Chemotherapy with Folfoxiri Followed by Radical Surgical Resection of Metastases for the Treatment of Unresectable Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients.- Pre-operative Radio-Chemotherapy of Rectal Cancer: Toxicity and Preliminary Results with the Addition of Weekly Oxaliplatin.- The Role of Platins in Newly Diagnosed Endometrial Cancer.- Platinum Compounds: Key Ingredients in Ovarian Cancer Treatment and Strategies.- Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy: An Important Strategy in Ovarian Cancer Treatment.- Novel Strategies for Enhancingthe Efficacy of Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Patients with Ovarian Cancer.- Laparoscopically Assisted Heated Intra-Operative Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC): Technical Aspect and Pharmacokinetics Data.- Organic Cation Transporters 2 as Mediators of Cisplatin Nephrotoxicity.- Peripheral Neurotoxicity of Platinum Compounds.- Platinum Drugs in Children with Cancer.- Optimising Carboplatin Dose using Patient Characteristics and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring.