Biologic therapeutics and molecular profiling to optimize wound healing

Non-healing wounds represent a significant cause of morbidity and mortality for a large portion of the adult population. Wounds that fail to heal are entrapped in a self-sustaining cycle of chronic inflammation leading to the destruction of the extracellular matrix. Among cancer patients, malnutrition, radiation, physical dehabilitation, chemotherapy, and the malignancy itself increase the likelihood of chronic wound formation, and these co-morbidity factors inhibit the normal wound healing process. Current wound treatments are aimed at some, but not all, of the underlying causes responsible for delayed healing of wounds. These impediments block the normal processes that allow normal progression through the specific stages of wound healing. This review summarizes the current information regarding the management and treatment of complex wounds that fail to heal normally and offers some insights into novel future therapies [Menke N, Ward KR, Diegelmann R. Non-healing wounds. Emerg Med Rep 2007; 28(4).,Menke NB, Ward KR, Witten TM, Bonchev DG, Diegelmann RF. Impaired wound healing. Clin Dermatol 2007;25:19–25].