Paolo Ruggero Errante, Francisco Sandro Menezes-Rodrigues, Afonso Caricati-Neto and Leandro Bueno Bergantin
Cancer is a major public health issue worldwide, affecting both developed and developing countries, thus leading to the rise of a large annual expenses every fiscal year. Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and multitarget pharmaceutical therapies are the current strategies for cancer treatment. Generally, cancer treatments are based on the clinical history of the patients, including histological type and the presence of molecular biomarkers. Nonetheless, new options are clearly needed to increase survival and improve the patients’ quality of life, especially for those in advanced stages of this disease. Thus, the increased knowledge of the mechanisms responsible for growth, invasion and metastasis of cancer, including development of intrinsic resistance, is critical.