The Fundamentals Of Cancer Research Scientists Revealed
Getting cancer is one of the scariest things an individual may have and it does not only affect the person diagnosed but in addition the individuals around that person also. Cancer is definitely an incredibly deadly disease with a number of different types. It's challenging to find someone within the current world today who hasn't known somebody that has or has had cancer. As a result of this, millions of dollars are spent each and every year on cancer research to find out more concerning this deadly disease as well as to identify new effective treatments and cures for it.
The basis of such research is to identify the types of cancer, diagnose cancer in patients, and to find ways to avoid, treat and cure the disease. There are actually various ways that cancer is researched. These ways include epidemiology and molecular bioscience, which is then employed in clinical trials to compare and evaluate the different treatments.
The several types of treatments that will be being researched are chemotherapy, radiation therapy, gene therapy, finding vaccines, targeted therapy and ways to enhance the immune system. Anti-cancer vaccination research is done deals with exposing extracted tumors cells to UV light for a 24-hour period and after that injecting them back into the organism. This approach has recently been successful on rats.
However, researches of this deadly disease has had its share of issues and is still battling some of them. The main issue it faces is funding. Most of the funding comes from donations, so people and different organizations have to go out and acquire funding from the general public. Stem cell studies have also stirred up a whole lot of controversy essentially halting any current testing within this field. Another controversial topic with cancer research is the clinical trials and also the use of animals and human beings.
As mentioned earlier, funding is just one of the most important parts of keeping such researches alive. There are several organizations out there that can be doing their part to raise money for research. Some of these organizations include; The American Cancer Society, Institute of Cancer Research, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, United Devices Cancer Research Project, Friends of Cancer Research as well as the Walker Cancer Research Institute. This really is just a short list of some of the organizations, but rest assured that there are plenty more around.
Many volunteers world-wide commit themselves to raising funds for cancer research and cancer charities. Many tens of thousands more work within the industry as carers, or researching, prescribing, identifying and manufacturing drugs. Huge companies spend fortunes on cancer research. After so long and numerous billions spent what exactly has cancer research revealed?
There happen to be regular breakthroughs in our comprehension of cancer, but little progress in its treatment. Modern research into cancer began in the 1940's and 50's when scientists isolated substances that killed cancer cells growing in a petri dish, or leukaemia cells in laboratory mice. Early successes in chemotherapy set the pace and received much media exposure, even though they only applied to 5% of cancer treatments at most.
Serving humanity by solving its major diseases has a celebrity status, there is a lot of kudos and an air of Hollywood associated with such things. Cancer research is high profile activity and every now and then a scientific treatment solutions are discovered that gains wide recognition, such as the HPV-16 trial, but it only applies itself to the management of a small number of cancers. Mass-media hype is part of the problem of how we see cancer. Early discoveries set up an expectation that there was a cure-all treatment, a 'magic bullet' that could make its discoverer famous by curing cancer across the globe. The idea stems in part from aspirin, the original bullet that magically finds its way to the anguish and diminishes it.
In the 1950's and 60's huge and expensive research projects were set up to test every known substance to determine if it effected cancer cells. You might remember the discovery of the Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharansus Roseus), which revealed alkaloids (vinblastine and vincristine) which are still utilized in chemotherapy today. Taxol, a remedy for ovarian and breast cancer originally came from the Pacific Yew tree. A treatment for testicular cancer and small-cell lung cancer called 'Etoposide' was derived from the May apple. In 'Plants Used Against Cancer' by Jonathan Hartwell over 3,000 plants are identified from medical and folklore sources for treating cancer, about 50% of which have been shown to have some effect upon cancer cells in a test tube.
When these plants are made into synthetic drugs, single chemicals are isolated and the rest of the plant is normally thrown away. The medicinally active molecules are extracted from the plant and modified until they can be chemically unique. Then the compound is patented, given a brand name and tested.
Within the first phase it's going to generally be tested on animals, the second phase will decide dosage levels as well as in phase 3 it's tested on people. By the time it's approved through the Federal Drugs Authority (in U.S.A.) or the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulation Agency (M.H.R.A.) in Britain, the development costs for a new drug can reach five hundred million dollars, which eventually has to be recouped from the consumer.
Along with 'treatment directed' research for example finding chemicals that effect cancer cells, basic research continues apace, into differences between normal and cancerous cells. In the last thirty years this research has revealed much about our nature, but still no cure. Below are some current strands of scientific research into cancer.
Antibody-guided therapy: this really is the original 'magic bullet'. Cancer researchers use monoclonal antibodies to carry poisons directly to the cancer cells without harming others.
Chronobiology: much of what is it worth happens in our bodies is governed by cycles, from the female monthly cycle to the cycles of brainwaves. Human health depends upon interacting cycles geared to acts of perception, breathing, reproduction and renewal. Chronobiology analyses these cycles in regards to different times, such as day and night. Hormones, including stress and growth hormones, have their very own cycles. For example they could be at their highest activity in the morning and quieter overnight. Cancer cells seem to no longer obey the exact same cycle rates as normal cells.
Anti-telomerase: one part of a cell, called the telomerase, governs the life cycle of a cell and the way many times it may multiply. Some cancer cells escape this control and will boost the range of times they divide, becoming 'immortal'. Researchers hope to gain control over cancer cells by stopping the action of telomerase.
Anti-angiogenesis: secondary tumours (metastasis) can persuade the cells around them to grow new vessels to feed the tumours, supplying oxygen and nutrients for the growing cancer. This process is called angiogenesis and research here is finding ways to stop the signals to normal cells that start the process.
Anti-adhesion molecules: Cancer cells form into clumps, unlike those in a petri dish which form into a flatter arrangement. When there are actually clumps of cells they appear to possess a quality that resists treatment. This strand of research looks at ways that may stop the cells clumping together, by dissolving the clumps for more efficient treatment.
