Advances in treatment options and therapies are being made for a large number of different types of cancers.  Patients who once considered themselves in the category of “guinea pigs” now view themselves as “pioneers” as science is on the threshold of making major breakthroughs with a whole range of new drug and treatment options for what was once considered the most fatal of diseases. 

Drugs such as Gleevec and Mylotarg are now offering leukemia patients great hope as are inhibitors of a protein known as FLT3 found in acute leukemia, and are now in development.

A whole range of new drugs are currently in development that attack the metastic process of the tumor by depriving the tumor of proteins that regulate the creation of new blood vessels. 

In addition to angiogenesis inhibitor drugs (those that prevent the creation of new blood vessels), monoclonal antibody therapy is being viewed as one of the most promising areas of advancements currently being made.  The monoclonal antibodies attach to proteins on the surface of cancer cells and interrupt the cell’s growth signals.  These drugs tend to have fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy.  

To learn more about recent developments that may pertain to the particular cancer type you are interested in, go to:

 http://www.cancer.gov/clinical_trials/developments/