Cancer Treatment Today

New drugs in development are initially referred to by letters and number. TH-302 is such a drug that is in clinical development. It is unique in that it is activated under hypoxic conditions, meaning that it works best in tissues that are not getting enough oxygen. Many cancers in the body outgrow their blood supply and are starved for oxygen. TH-302 exploits the activation of a nitroazole prodrug under hypoxic conditions by a process that generate

BMS-936558 is an antibody against PD-1, a protein involved in repressing the immune system. It activates the immune system and enables it to fight tumors. A well established approved drug, Yervoy blocks CTLA-4, another inhibitory protein expressed on immune cells and Yervoy and BMS-936558 belong to the same class of drugs. Both generate an anti-cancer immune response. This very promising agent is in several trials for various diagnoses. For example,

It has gradually become clear that insight is involved in the cancer growth and regulation. Insulin Growth Factor Receptor(IGFR) is important in this process. IGF-IR blockaded by IMC-A12 results in rapid and profound growth inhibition of cancers of the breast, lung, colon, and pancreas, and many other cancers. Although promising single-agent activity has been observed, the most impressive effects of targeting the IGF-IR with IMC-A12 have been noted

A now well established approach to cancer immunotherapy is using antibodies that are directed against substance (antigen) on a cancer cell surface. A fully human monoclonal antibody directed against the negative immunoregulatory human cell surface receptor PD-1 (programmed death-1 or programmed cell death-1/PCD-1) with immunopotentiation activity. Put simply, it activates T cells  and produces cell-mediated immune responses against tumor cells or

A now well established approach to cancer immunotherapy is using antibodies that are directed against substance (antigen) on a cancer cell surface. A monoclonal antibody is a molecule that attaches to the cancer cell and causes changes within it or in immune cells around it, or it can carry a toxin or a radioactive material to the cancer cell. A fully human monoclonal antibody directed against the human cell surface receptor PD-1 (programmed death-1

Gatrointestinal junction(GE) cancer (where esophagus and stomach meet) is a type of cancer that has similarities to both gastric and esophageal cancer. Since GE Junctions cancers that express HER turned out to respond well to Herceptin, there is great interest in targeting other molecules, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, and P13k/Akt/mTor pathway, as well as the insulin-like growth factor