Medications are the mainstay of treatment for those cancers that by their nature or because they have spread, cannot be removed surgically or eliminated with radiation. Medical treatments are also often added to surgery or radiation to kill the few cancer cells that may have escaped and reduce the chance of cancer coming back. The broad trends that are driving research into new medications for cancer include:
· New chemotherapy drugs and combinations of drugs
· New ways to manipulate the hormones that drive certain cancers (primarily breast and prostate cancer)
· More specific and targeted therapies that are sometimes referred to as “smart bombs.” These types of treatments are designed to attack very specific mechanisms that drive cancer growth and spread. A variety of technologies make targeted therapy possible. Some are artificial antibodies, synthetic small chemical molecules, and gene-directed therapies
· Harnessing the immune system to fight cancer
· All cancer therapy is likely to become more personalized (individualized) with treatments selected to match each person’s unique cancer.