Paediatric oncology. Molecular oncology in infants [Pädiatrische onkologie. Molekulare onkologie im kindesalter]

The molecular analyses of malignant diseases in childhood have contributed essentially to the identification of novel genes and have fundamentally increased our understanding of the mechanisms underlying tumorgenesis. These findings have contributed to the development of both diagnostic and prognostic markers useful in patient management. Furthermore, characteristic genetic alterations in malignant cells and functional consequences are increasingly being resolved allowing a more precise prediction of outcome of each patient and enhancing the development of disease-specific treatment strategies. Novel genetic techniques such as molecular profiling will lead to new drug development enabling targeted therapeutic intervention of disrupted biologic processes in tumor cells.