What Are Solutions For Antibodies for Cancer Prevention?
Monday, March 16th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Researchers at some of the world’s top laboratories are working on ways to develop antibodies for cancer prevention. Major breakthroughs have occurred within the last several decades, helping to successfully fight cancer for thousands of victims. Monoclonal antibodies, or “Mabs”, are made of specialized proteins that help to stimulate a person’s immune system and fight tumor cells developing in the body. Scientists are in the continual process of discovering Mabs for leukemia prevention along with breast and cervical cancer prevention, making it today’s most widely used form of immunotherapy.
The American Cancer Society’s (AMC) web site explains that monoclonal antibodies were first developed in laboratories using mice with myeloma cells, which is a kind of bone marrow cancer, and mice that produced specific antibodies for those cells. The combination of these two cells, called a hybridoma cell, forces a perpetual factory making antibodies. The antibodies end up being identical clones of the original hybridoma cell, which is why they are called monoclonal antibodies.
The problem scientists faced with this phenomenal finding was that human antibodies recognized the mouse-produced antibodies as foreign invaders and attacked them. With hard work and dedication, scientists are continuing to develop ways to integrate human antibodies in lieu of mouse antibodies so cancer patients will be able to use the immunotherapy as a form of treatment.
Today there are two types of Mabs, naked and conjugated. The difference between these two lies in the fact that naked antibodies lack radioactive materials attached to them. Conjugated antibodies, on the other hand, are fused with a chemotherapy drug or other toxin used to fight off cancer cells. In recent years the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several Mabs, both naked and conjugated, for cancer treatments. A list of approved Mabs is available through the ACA’s web site.
In 2004 and in 2006, Bevacizumab, a naked antibody, was approved for treating certain types of breast cancers. In 2001 the FDA approved the use of Alemuzumab, a naked antibody, which acts as a form of leukemia prevention by attaching itself to both B and T cancer cells, causing the body’s immune system to attack and kill them. In 2000, the FDA approved the use of a conjugated antibody, Gemtuzumab ozogamicin, which is used in the treatment of chronic leukemia.
If you have lost someone to cancer or know someone suffering from cancer, it is not hard to understand how crucial medical research is when it comes to finding antibodies for cancer prevention. The number of cancer victims continues to rise each year, hitting people of all ages. With the prolonged use and approval of Mabs, these numbers may begin to decline, alleviating the fear everyone has about developing some form of the deadly disease. Diet and exercise will only help an individual a certain amount, leaving genetics and medical breakthroughs to do the rest. By continuing to fine tune more variations of antibodies for cancer prevention, medicine as we know it today could be changed for the better in years to come.
Success often outweighs the failures that scientists and pharmaceutical researchers experience when trying to successfully find treatments for cancer and other deadly diseases. The triumphs experienced within the last several decades have come in the form of antibodies for cancer prevention. The Mabs that have received approval by the FDA are now being used in the healing of cancer patients all over the world. As time goes by, these treatments will be further developed and perfected, helping lead the way in cancer protection and treatment for generations to come.
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