“It is our best shot,” said Dr. Flaherty who was leading the research in melanoma cancer at the University of Pennsylvania (Harmon “A Roller Coaster Chase for a Cure” 1). Targeted cancer therapy and personalized medicine are a revolutionary approach in drug discovery to treat a disease that affects vast population of the human race. After years of toil and labor the researchers were able to formulate a drug that was successful in shrinking the tumors in the body of the patients that were suffering from the melanoma, one of the most dangerous forms of cancer. The drug PLX4032 is designed to bind to the B-RAF protein in the mutated gene to block the growth of cancerous cells(Harmon “A Roller Coaster Chase for a Cure” 1-2). The attack
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The B- ARF mutated gene present in the tumor was used as a predictive biomarker to determine whether the drug, PLX4032, would bring a positive response in the patient. Miraculously, within a few weeks of taking the drug the tumor in the patient's body started to melt away and the doctor’s regarded this change as a breakthrough in the fight against melanoma(Harmon “A Roller Coaster Chase for a Cure” 5). Nearly every patient on the drug was recovering and there had been no deaths since the drug had been reformulated. “In a kind of “pinch me” exercise, the six doctors sent one another “before and after” CT scans of their patients.” Many patients had benefitted from the drug and even the doctors were surprised to see the results( Harmon “After Long Fight, Drug Gives Sudden Reprieve” 1). “I need to get on your trial” said a patient in a desperate phone message(Harmon “After Long Fight, Drug Gives Sudden Reprieve” 2). “ It is a life saver” said another (Bracken “A Patient, A Pioneer).The success of the clinical trial can be attributed to the eagerness and excitement of the patients who felt lucky with each passing day. Even though the drug is not able to completely cure the disease, it has provided relief from pain and helped in prolonging people’s life by an average of six months(Harmon “A Drug Trial Cycle: Recovery, Relapse, Reinvention” …show more content…
Targeted therapy ahs been successful in halting the tumor growth in 81 per cent of the patients in comparison to chemotherapy, which slows down tumor growth in just 15 per cent of the population for an average of two months(Harmon “A Drug Trial Cycle: Recovery, Relapse, Reinvention” 2). In addition to these advantages the use of targeted therapy has made it possible to control melanoma in the advanced stages of melanoma where the chance of survival is minimal. “The New England Journal of Medicine called the drug “a major breakthrough” for people with advanced melanoma, whose median survival is eight months after diagnosis” (Harmon “A Drug Trial Cycle: Recovery, Relapse, Reinvention” 2). Targeted therapy has proved to be less toxic and more tolerable by the patients than traditional chemotherapy(Harmon “A Drug Trial Cycle: Recovery, Relapse, Reinvention” 1). It was evident in the case of the two brothers who were undergoing different treatments for the same disease. Mr. Ryan with his cancer at stage 3 was placed on chemotherapy struggled to survive while Mr. McLaughlin at stage 4 was on the drug for nine months and looked forward to what was in store for him in the future(Harmon “New Drugs Stir Debate on Rules of Clinical Trials”
The B- ARF mutated gene present in the tumor was used as a predictive biomarker to determine whether the drug, PLX4032, would bring a positive response in the patient. Miraculously, within a few weeks of taking the drug the tumor in the patient's body started to melt away and the doctor’s regarded this change as a breakthrough in the fight against melanoma(Harmon “A Roller Coaster Chase for a Cure” 5). Nearly every patient on the drug was recovering and there had been no deaths since the drug had been reformulated. “In a kind of “pinch me” exercise, the six doctors sent one another “before and after” CT scans of their patients.” Many patients had benefitted from the drug and even the doctors were surprised to see the results( Harmon “After Long Fight, Drug Gives Sudden Reprieve” 1). “I need to get on your trial” said a patient in a desperate phone message(Harmon “After Long Fight, Drug Gives Sudden Reprieve” 2). “ It is a life saver” said another (Bracken “A Patient, A Pioneer).The success of the clinical trial can be attributed to the eagerness and excitement of the patients who felt lucky with each passing day. Even though the drug is not able to completely cure the disease, it has provided relief from pain and helped in prolonging people’s life by an average of six months(Harmon “A Drug Trial Cycle: Recovery, Relapse, Reinvention” …show more content…
Targeted therapy ahs been successful in halting the tumor growth in 81 per cent of the patients in comparison to chemotherapy, which slows down tumor growth in just 15 per cent of the population for an average of two months(Harmon “A Drug Trial Cycle: Recovery, Relapse, Reinvention” 2). In addition to these advantages the use of targeted therapy has made it possible to control melanoma in the advanced stages of melanoma where the chance of survival is minimal. “The New England Journal of Medicine called the drug “a major breakthrough” for people with advanced melanoma, whose median survival is eight months after diagnosis” (Harmon “A Drug Trial Cycle: Recovery, Relapse, Reinvention” 2). Targeted therapy has proved to be less toxic and more tolerable by the patients than traditional chemotherapy(Harmon “A Drug Trial Cycle: Recovery, Relapse, Reinvention” 1). It was evident in the case of the two brothers who were undergoing different treatments for the same disease. Mr. Ryan with his cancer at stage 3 was placed on chemotherapy struggled to survive while Mr. McLaughlin at stage 4 was on the drug for nine months and looked forward to what was in store for him in the future(Harmon “New Drugs Stir Debate on Rules of Clinical Trials”