Transition

I returned from Prague two weeks ago. There, I participated in a panel discussion of oncology patient advocacy groups and attended the EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.

Prague is a loose metaphor for the state of science today, especially in the area of carcinoid. Architecturally, Prague is a town divided with an old section of original buildings juxtaposed next to newer, modern buildings. The old section is like a fairy tale, with a castle, picturesque bridge, cobblestones, and lovely, quaint shops. Walking through this section is like going back in time. It served a different purpose in a different age—today, we no longer have a need to build castles or uneven cobblestone streets (I discovered this latter fact the hard way—by tripping on a mismatched patch of stones).

The transition to the new section is jarring, with the appearance of modern office and apartment buildings. A new conference center exists in which advanced scientific conferences may be held. These buildings may be more appropriate for today—with wireless Internet connections, modern plumbing and electricity.

Similarly, in carcinoid and related pancreatic endocrine tumor research, we need to transition from an outdated past and apply the advanced medical techniques that exist today (such as high throughput genomics and proteomics research tools) to achieve greater scientific understanding of carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors.

We carcinoid patients have existed with only speculative understanding and anecdotal evidence for a long time. It is heartening to see progress finally in the form of new, outstanding research that includes the development of cell lines, single nucleotide polymorphism analysis, whole genome studies, and more. For us patients, this new era of research is exciting.