Scientists work together to attack caner by the means of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, to effectively kill cancer cells remains a challenging issue, reflected by poor overall survival of cancer patients. What a frightening thing is that, by the year 2020, 16.8 million annual new cancer cases are diagnosed worldwide. It’s particularly urgent for scientists to design and improve pharmaceutical strategies.
Estimated Number of New Cancer Cases by World Area, 2008*
Source: GLOBOCAN 2008.
The occurrence of antibodies as immunotherapeutic agents has offered a tremendous novel potential for the treatment of cancer patients. A range of monoclonal antibodies(mAbs),such as
erlotinib and gefitinib , have been approved by FDA with the support of positive clinical results . Some people can be grouped based on common genetic mutations, supporting mAB drugs to be an effective option matched to this group.
Difficulty and complexity in the drug development
Putting a new medicine in the hands of patients is vastly more complex. It requires academic institutions and pharmaceutical corporations to expend understanding of molecular mechanisms of tumor development and migration, and to develop specific antibodies targeted the process that lead to cancer. As Roche reports, researchers need to produce a large number of synthetic compounds and then find out one best suited for drug use. It will take about 12 years until a doctor can prescribe it .
What is the expenditure of a drug? We can know it from data Roche offers. To achieve a drug needs something listed as follows: 1 billion US $ investment, over 7 million hours of work, 6587 experiments, and 423 researchers.
Strategies for novel drug
MAbs plus chemotherapy regimen are currently in clinical development and application, which can strengthen anti-cancer effectiveness of mAbs. For instance, bevacizumab plus mFOLFOX6 (modified regimen of leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin)as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer are superior in PFS.
Some patients using mAbs develop drug resistance over time , resulting in a relapse of the cancer within one year of starting therapy. Scientists and doctors should expand knowledge of drug resistance mechanisms, and thereby develop effective therapies for patients with cancer.
References:
1. Development of TGF-β signalling inhibitors for cancer therapy. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2004 Dec;3(12):1011-22.
2. Drug interactions with solid tumour-targeted therapies. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2014 Jan;89(1):179-96.
3. Leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin plus bevacizumab versus S-1 and oxaliplatin plus bevacizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (SOFT): an open-label, non-inferiority, randomised phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2013 Dec;14(13):1278-86.