Molecular modelling and simulations in cancer research

The complexity of cancer and the vast amount of experimental data available have made computer-aided approaches necessary. Biomolecular modelling techniques are becoming increasingly easier to use, whereas hardware and software are becoming better and cheaper. Cross-talk between theoretical and experimental scientists dealing with cancer-research from a molecular approach, however, is still uncommon. This is in contrast to other fields, such as amyloid-related diseases, where molecular modelling studies are widely acknowledged. The aim of this review paper is therefore to expose some of the more common approaches in molecular modelling to cancer scientists in simple terms, illustrating success stories while also revealing the limitations of computational studies at the molecular level. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.