Anticancer Drug Sensitivity Testing, a Historical Review and Future Perspectives

Clinical cancer treatment and therapy have been gradually improved by experimental and clinical advancements worldwide, especially after the advent of different types of individualized cancer therapy (ICT) and new generations of anticancer drugs. Despite the long history of anticancer drug sensitivity testing (DST), its therapeutic benefits to clinical cancer patients are compromised and controversial. DST techniques are diversified and improved a great deal, but they have not been developed into an overwhelming means to cure all cancer patients in clinics. The retrospection and panorama of historic and evolutionary developments of DST including clinical relevance, advantageous, technical cautions, limitations or even shortcomings of varied models and methodologies at present stage are addressed. Possible future directions and novel ideas are also discussed and highlighted.