ABSTRACT Thirty-five years after the 'war on cancer' was declared, the discovery of anticancer drugs remains a highly challenging endeavour. Here, we consider the factors

responsible, such as tumour heterogeneity, and suggest strategies to improve the chances of short-term success in the development of novel anticancer drugs. Access through your institution

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Rev. Cancer_ 5, 689–698 (2005). Article  CAS  Google Scholar  Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Amgen, 1120 Veterans Boulevard, South San Francisco, 94010,

California, USA Alexander Kamb * the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA Susan Wee & Christoph Lengauer Authors *

Alexander Kamb View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Susan Wee View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google

Scholar * Christoph Lengauer View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Christoph Lengauer. ETHICS

DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS A. Kamb is an employee of Amgen. S. Wee and C. Lengauer are employees of Novartis. RELATED LINKS RELATED LINKS OMIM CML GIST RCC RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS

Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Kamb, A., Wee, S. & Lengauer, C. Why is cancer drug discovery so difficult?. _Nat Rev Drug Discov_ 6, 115–120 (2007).

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