Targeted Cancer Therapy
Since researchers learn about some of the differences that help cancer cells grow and thrive, it led them to “target” these differences through the development of drugs. Targeted therapy is basically a cancer treatment that uses medical drugs in curing the patient (medical drugs such as: Imatinib (Gleevec), Gefitinib (used in certain lung cancers), and Erlotinib (usually used pancreatic cancer). Clinical trials are performed in order to see whether targeted cancer therapy is an effective cancer treatment. Although targeted cancer therapy may be effective for some, it does have potential drawbacks. Targeted cancer therapy is not as common as current treatment methods such as chemotherapy but it can help patients become …show more content…
According to results from a clinical trial, a patient that suffered from a pancreatic cancer survived without the cancer progressing (“National Cancer Institute,” 2011). This is because the chemical signs that tell the cancer cells to grow and divide are being shut down by the drugs. It is highly unlikely for the cancer cell to grow and divide after this. An example of this performed with another clinical trial but this time with Van VanderMeer and he is suffering from advanced lung cancer. After going through the process of targeted cancer therapy, he became free from lung cancer. Usually after a patient goes through a current cancer treatment method, sometimes they are only left with a few extra months to live but targeted cancer therapy can offer a cure (Nature, 2011). This can happen since the drugs are powerful enough to stop making new blood vessels and so cancer cells cannot feed on it. According to the clinical trials mentioned, VanderMeer has had advanced lung cancer and was cured from it thus it is proven from clinical trials that targeted cancer therapy is an effective cancer treatment method for most people. However, only few therapies have been approved to treat cancer. Targeted cancer therapy is less harmful and may eventually be more effective than the current cancer treatments (Canadian Cancer Society, 2005). This is because the
Since researchers learn about some of the differences that help cancer cells grow and thrive, it led them to “target” these differences through the development of drugs. Targeted therapy is basically a cancer treatment that uses medical drugs in curing the patient (medical drugs such as: Imatinib (Gleevec), Gefitinib (used in certain lung cancers), and Erlotinib (usually used pancreatic cancer). Clinical trials are performed in order to see whether targeted cancer therapy is an effective cancer treatment. Although targeted cancer therapy may be effective for some, it does have potential drawbacks. Targeted cancer therapy is not as common as current treatment methods such as chemotherapy but it can help patients become …show more content…
According to results from a clinical trial, a patient that suffered from a pancreatic cancer survived without the cancer progressing (“National Cancer Institute,” 2011). This is because the chemical signs that tell the cancer cells to grow and divide are being shut down by the drugs. It is highly unlikely for the cancer cell to grow and divide after this. An example of this performed with another clinical trial but this time with Van VanderMeer and he is suffering from advanced lung cancer. After going through the process of targeted cancer therapy, he became free from lung cancer. Usually after a patient goes through a current cancer treatment method, sometimes they are only left with a few extra months to live but targeted cancer therapy can offer a cure (Nature, 2011). This can happen since the drugs are powerful enough to stop making new blood vessels and so cancer cells cannot feed on it. According to the clinical trials mentioned, VanderMeer has had advanced lung cancer and was cured from it thus it is proven from clinical trials that targeted cancer therapy is an effective cancer treatment method for most people. However, only few therapies have been approved to treat cancer. Targeted cancer therapy is less harmful and may eventually be more effective than the current cancer treatments (Canadian Cancer Society, 2005). This is because the