This article is part of the supplement: Metabolism, diet and disease

Open Access Oral presentation

Beyond insulin: rethinking cellular metabolism

Craig B Thompson

  • Correspondence: Craig B Thompson

Author Affiliations

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA

BMC Proceedings 2012, 6(Suppl 3):O25 doi:10.1186/1753-6561-6-S3-O25


The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1753-6561/6/S3/O25


Published:1 June 2012

© 2012 Thompson; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Oral presentation

The latest cancer therapeutics are almost all inhibitors of oncogenes or their downstream mediators. With the exception of imatinib, most such drugs have been disappointing in the clinic. In contrast, existing successful cancer drugs have a therapeutic index because they render the consequences of oncogene activation selectively toxic to the cancer cell. A renewed focus on this type of approach appears warranted and should be considered.