"Approved checkpoint inhibitor drugs," ChemistryWorld, 2018.
Chemotherapy is the backbone of biotechnology research. Biotechnology has advanced its way in attacking cancer cells only, rather than killing all cells in sight like chemotherapy. It has proven to be very effective, avoiding killing the healthy cells and eradicating only the unhealthy cells. This method has revolutionized the way doctors and researchers treat cancer.
"Targeted therapy works by targeting the cancer’s specific genes, proteins, or the tissue environment that contributes to cancer growth and survival. These genes and proteins are found in cancer cells or in cells related to cancer growth, like blood vessel cells."
- "Understanding Targeted Therapy," Cancer.net, 2019.
Diagram of how targeted therapy works, American Cancer Society, 2019.
"A CAR T Cell Killing an Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cell", 2019. The Children's Hospital of Phildephia.
"CAR T-cell Therapy: Scott McIntyre's Story",2017. UC Chicago Medicine.
"CAR T-cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses specially altered T cells — a part of the immune system — to fight cancer.When these CAR T cells are reinfused into the patient, the new receptors enable them to latch onto a specific antigen on the patient's tumor cells and kill them."
~ "Cellular Therapies Program", Dana Farber Institute, 2019.
“CAR-T was our ‘hail Mary’ pass. We threw the ball up in the air, and it ended up being a touchdown,” said McIntyre, a diehard Notre Dame football fan. “My oncologists, they never gave up. The doctors didn’t give up. My family didn’t give up. And the researchers didn’t give up.”
- Jamie Bartosch, UChicagoMedicine, 2019.
"Freezing your T cells today for potential CAR-T therapies tomorrow", Hale. FierceBiotech.
"Novartis Kymriah® demonstrates consistent efficacy and safety outcomes in US patients when used in real-world setting", 2019. Novartis.
"The emerging field of cancer gene therapy offers a number of exciting potential treatments. The term gene therapy encompasses a wide range of treatment types that all use genetic material to modify cells (either in vitro or in vivo) to help effect a cure"
~ "Gene Therapy for Cancer Treatment: Past, Present and Future," 2006. National Center for Biotechnology Information.
"Gene Therapy Example," 2007. Gene Therapy Net.
“We’re entering a new frontier in medical innovation with the ability to reprogram a patient’s own cells to attack a deadly cancer”
-"FDA approval brings first gene therapy to the United States", 2017. FDA.