Miraculous Anti-Cancer Pill: How a Small Orange Pill Rewrote Medical History

Author: (Switzerland) Wei Sile, Slater
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: Perhaps there is a turning point. At the end of 1988, something happened that turned Drucker's helplessness and frustration around. A research team led by Professor Alexander Levitzki of Israel published a paper in the journal Science. The team pointed out that they had successfully inhibited the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. Growth factors are chemicals that play several roles in promoting the division and maintenance of new cells. They gather on the surface receptors of cells, and specific growth factors like EGF can cause excessive cell proliferation. This paper reignited Drucker's hope in kinase inhibitors. If Levitzki's research team could successfully inhibit EGF, it would give us a better chance of finding and developing effective inhibitors of tyrosine kinases. In 1988, Drucker had suggested to Leyden that chronic myeloid leukemia was the most suitable research target for the Ciba-Geigy cancer research group. At the same time, Drucker further predicted that chronic myeloid leukemia would be a cancer that could prove the anti-cancer efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Before this conversation, Leyden was not very optimistic about the Bcr-Abl oncogene, which was not even on the list of drug development targets. The reason was simple: only a small number of patients suffered from this cancer, even if a Bcr-Abl inhibitor was successfully developed, it would only mean saving a few patients. Therefore, Leyden and his colleagues in the cancer research group were not very interested in studying Bcr-Abl inhibitors. They focused most of their energy on exploring the efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for other cancers. However, after hearing Drucker's words, Leyden's perspective underwent a 180-degree turn. Drucker stated that if tyrosine kinase inhibitors successfully inhibited the Bcr-Abl oncogene, it would be a feasible example of applying molecular biology approaches to cancer treatment. As a result, Leyden immediately agreed to include the Bcr-Abl oncogene on the list of drug development targets. The arrival of 1990 also marked the beginning of another decade. However, in the fight against cancer, it seemed as though there was no progress, and neither party had achieved any significant results in the research of anti-cancer drugs. Mayt and Leyden continued to prepare for the research and testing of various drugs, but they did not shorten the list to a manageable level. Because they had no idea what was feasible and what was not. During this period, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute signed an agreement with Sandoz Pharmaceuticals to jointly develop signaling compounds. In Switzerland, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals and Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals were competitors, so due to contractual restrictions, Drucker was forced to stop contact with Ciba-Geigy Labs from 1990 to 1993. To unravel some mysteries of cancer research, Drucker had to make a decision. He decided to shift the experimental subjects of tyrosine kinase inhibitors from laboratory animals to human clinical trials. Because everything that could be done with animal experiments had already been done, the only way to conclusively prove that inhibiting tyrosine kinases