Keywords
cancer, anti-angiogenesis, cancer treatment, radiation therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, resection, induction chemotherapy, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF, prodrug, topoisomerase I, COX-2
Disciplines
Biological Factors | Biological Phenomena, Cell Phenomena, and Immunity | Enzymes and Coenzymes | Medical Cell Biology | Medical Microbiology | Medical Pathology | Neoplasms | Oncology | Other Chemicals and Drugs | Pharmaceutical Preparations
Abstract
Cancer is a disease that humans have been struggling to combat for centuries. It originates from the accumulation of several mutations over the life of a cell that causes it to evade cell death and multiply rapidly. It can affect any tissue in the body and can spread to other parts of the body through metastasis. Cancer comes in numerous shapes and sizes with different levels of aggression, growth speeds, and health risks. Many treatments for cancer exist today, three of the most popular being surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, which can be used in combinations with other treatments to best fight cancer. Verma et al. (2019) showed that when surgical resection is used before chemotherapy, a significant decrease in postoperative hospitalization lengths and 30-day mortality rates occurs, with correlation to trends that show increased overall survival and decreased 90-day mortality rates as well. Kim et al. (2018) approached treating surgery with a targeted therapy called anti-angiogenesis using the prodrug TA, which provided successful results in combating cancer cells by inducing apoptosis in cancer cells themselves as well as the endothelial cells that nourish tumors. This research can be taken into account by oncologists and physicians when prescribing certain treatment methods in fighting cancer, as these treatment options may have similar effects in treating and preventing other cancers, neoplastic diseases, and infections that leach nutrients from the body.
Recommended Citation
Current, Joseph R.. "How Can We Stop Cancer?." The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research 21 (2020): -. Web. [date of access]. <https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/ur/vol21/iss1/5>.
Additional Files
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Biological Factors Commons, Biological Phenomena, Cell Phenomena, and Immunity Commons, Enzymes and Coenzymes Commons, Medical Cell Biology Commons, Medical Microbiology Commons, Medical Pathology Commons, Neoplasms Commons, Oncology Commons, Other Chemicals and Drugs Commons, Pharmaceutical Preparations Commons