State of the Problem In its variety of forms, cancer is estimated to affect more than 14 million people per year, and is the cause the death of more than 8 million (National Cancer Institute). Despite millions of dollars of research in the field, and a concentrated effort by researchers around the globe, a panacea for cancer doesn’t exist, although much headway has been made in earlier detection and better treatment methods. Much of the difficulty in treating the disease lies in its diversity; cancer is as varied as it is deadly. There are more than a hundred different types of cancer, with the only unifying characteristic being uncontrollable cell division (National Cancer Institute). It is this characteristic that makes cancer so difficult
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This lack of discrimination leads to the many common adverse side effects of chemotherapy. It is for this reason that chemotherapy is extremely dose dependent, if too much is prescribed, its cytotoxic effects can lead to severe harms, thus limiting treatment potential. In contrast, targeted treatment approaches aim to directly attack cells with certain markers. Many cutting-edge treatments are targeted, but they suffer a lack of generalized applicability. Current targeted treatments include introducing antibodies to provide an immune response, or to directly deliver toxic molecules along with the related antibodies. However, in most scenarios, the target is based on the expression or overexpression of a certain protein. Most on the market treatment such as drugs that target BRAF or HER-2 are unable to treat all but a extremely specific form of cancer (American Cancer Society). Targeted treatment methods are currently the focus of many research efforts, and many preclinical trials are underway. It is the objective of this project to develop a more generalized targeted treatment …show more content…
Telomerase is an enzyme which catalyzes the addition of telomeres to the ends of chromosomes. Telomeres are repetitive non-coding segments found at the end of chromosomes with the sequence TTAGGG. Telomeres act as protective caps for the chromosomes, similar to plastic caps on the ends of shoelaces. Because DNA polymerase can only synthesize in the 5’ to 3’ direction and only adds nucleotides to an existing 3’ end, DNA polymerase is unable to replicate DNA near the 3’ end of chromosomes. This phenomenon, known as the end replication problem, means that each successive replication leads to the shortening of DNA. Telomeres protect against the loss of genetic information as the telomeric DNA at the end of chromosomes is
This lack of discrimination leads to the many common adverse side effects of chemotherapy. It is for this reason that chemotherapy is extremely dose dependent, if too much is prescribed, its cytotoxic effects can lead to severe harms, thus limiting treatment potential. In contrast, targeted treatment approaches aim to directly attack cells with certain markers. Many cutting-edge treatments are targeted, but they suffer a lack of generalized applicability. Current targeted treatments include introducing antibodies to provide an immune response, or to directly deliver toxic molecules along with the related antibodies. However, in most scenarios, the target is based on the expression or overexpression of a certain protein. Most on the market treatment such as drugs that target BRAF or HER-2 are unable to treat all but a extremely specific form of cancer (American Cancer Society). Targeted treatment methods are currently the focus of many research efforts, and many preclinical trials are underway. It is the objective of this project to develop a more generalized targeted treatment …show more content…
Telomerase is an enzyme which catalyzes the addition of telomeres to the ends of chromosomes. Telomeres are repetitive non-coding segments found at the end of chromosomes with the sequence TTAGGG. Telomeres act as protective caps for the chromosomes, similar to plastic caps on the ends of shoelaces. Because DNA polymerase can only synthesize in the 5’ to 3’ direction and only adds nucleotides to an existing 3’ end, DNA polymerase is unable to replicate DNA near the 3’ end of chromosomes. This phenomenon, known as the end replication problem, means that each successive replication leads to the shortening of DNA. Telomeres protect against the loss of genetic information as the telomeric DNA at the end of chromosomes is