...Is Ipilimumab the best solution for the treatment of malignant melanoma? Chloe Walton Malignant melanoma although rare is a form of cancer that without treatment progresses at an extremely fast rate. The development of drugs to try to halt the rapid rate at which malignant melanoma can grow and infect another organ of the body is an on going project by specialists. Dr Alison developed Ipilimumab in 1999 and it was found in the clinical trials that it does, in most cases, exactly what medical professionals have been looking for. However drugs such as ipilimumab come with risks associated with them. This poses the question of whether the benefits outweigh the risks and cost of the drug. Skin and how malignant melanoma develops Skin is the largest organ in our body, responsible for creating a barrier between the outside and our internal organs. The skin is made up of three layers. The first layer is the epidermis, which is made up of mainly keratinocytes; they make micro-layers, which continually grow outwards to compensate for old layers dying and flaking off. Within the epidermis Langerhans cells are contained which alert the immune system to virus’ and bacterium. The next layer is the dermis, which gives the skin its strength due to the elastin and collagen fibres. Also present in the dermis are; blood vessels which allows the skins temperature to be maintained, and nerves which pick up feelings of heat, pain etc. and relay to the brain. The final layer is the...
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...NEW TREATMENTS FOR CANCER A new revolution for cancer therapy has been created which is called “molecularly targeted therapy”. Since most drugs kill healthy cells along with cancer cells and cause serious side effects, this therapy will only kill the cancer cells of a specific cancer type. They are designed at the molecular level of the cell and are also able to identify specific molecules that are unique to specific cancers. One of the most eligible drug is called glivec, (also known as STI571) actively effecting a form of leukemia called chronic myeloid leukemia that causes excess overproduction of white blood cells. Moreover, in a case study it is reported that a gastroiestional stromal tumor was treated with STI571 and resulted in a significant reduction of the tumor. As this therapy promises the health of the patient, it also has some negative impacts and some limitations. Since this drug is specific to a small amount of molecules, it is not relevant to a large amount of tumors, meaning it is very limited in its application. Furthermore, the patients may experience diarrhea and liver problems such as hepatitis and elevated liver enzymes. All in all, molecularly targeted therapies hold the promise of harming fewer cells, reducing side effects and assuring a healthier life. Another new advancement in cancer treatments is called “immunotherapy”. This therapy is developed to enhance the immune system to fight cancer, reducing all severe side effects. The t- cells protect...
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...What is the cause of skin cancer? Stresses such as tobacco and radiation can cause cancer by damage to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) cells. DNA is the source of life which is stored inside the nucleus of every cell that makes up a living organism. To be able to fit inside a 10-micrometer average size cell, 10-meter long DNA has to be packed into a complex structure which is known as chromatin. Nucleosome is DNA wrapping around histone octamers and chromatin is form when nucleosomes in a nucleus compact together (Yu et al. 2011). At the chromatin level, it compacts to protect DNA from stresses after a short period of time (Interview with Dr. Michael Bergel 2015; unreferenced, see “Acknowledgements”). DNA fails to repair or kill itself (apoptosis) after being damaged which will causes DNA mutation. DNA mutation in a certain gene can make cells grow “out of control”. In human cells, the process of repairing DNA damage which occurs within chromatin is called Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER). Increasing age will decrease DNA ability to repair itself; this explains why a majority of cancer patients appear to be older adults. Ultraviolet radiation (UV radiation) is the main cause of skin cancer. Chromatin in skin cells after UV irradiation are found to...
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...Vemurafenib: A Potentially New Standard of Care? Vemurafenib: A Potentially New Standard of Care? Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer. Advanced metastatic melanoma, stage III or IV, has been incurable and relatively untreatable with “less than 10% of patients responding to traditional chemotherapy” regimens (PubMed Health, 2011). Progress in this area of oncology research has been very slow with the “average prognosis for patients with stage IV metastatic melanoma being 8-18 months” (Chapman., 2011). Proven research shows that the standard chemotherapy regimens don’t actually extend the lives of these patients. The standard first line treatment for late stage metastatic melanoma is dacarbazine (DTIC), used either alone as a single agent or in combination with other chemotherapy agents, and the effects have been minimal. The dacarbazine regimen usually shrinks the tumors for a temporary period, “about 3-6 months,” and then they begin to grow again. (Melanoma Skin Cancer, 2011). Recent research in the past five years has led to some targeted immunotherapy drugs like ipilimumab and peginterferon alpha-2b which have shown some promising results in helping to extend life expectancies for these patients. On August 17, 2011 the Food and Drug Administration gave some much needed hope to these patients with the approval of vemurafenib (Zelboraf). An orally administered targeted chemotherapy agent that has shown statistically significant results in “reducing the...
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...Drug Development for Melanoma As the director of the drug development unit in a biotech company we are always looking for new drugs to treat a variety of different cancers. There are many things that have to be considered when trying to get a drug to go from being an idea in a laboratory to something that can be used by cancer patients everywhere. The process of getting a drug development can be very lengthy. It could take many years and a lot of money before it could get approved to be used by doctors. In order for a drug to be developed it has to go through many testing periods. In order for a new drug to be taken by people, there must be an application submitted to the Investigational New Drug (IND) to the Food and Drug Administration....
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