Welcome to THROATCANCERCARE.COM.  Here you will find an abundant amount of information not only related to Throat Cancer, but to other types of cancers as well.  You will find that besides information on Laryngeal Cancer, the majority of posts are dedicated to Alternative Cancer Treatments.  While traditional methods of treating cancer are the most accepted in Western Medicine, mainly because we have to simply trust what our doctors and other cancer specialists are telling us, you may be suprised to see how many more people are discovering the benefits of Alternative and Natural Cancer Treatments.  So if you have been diagnosed with THROAT CANCER or ANY other type of cancer, review all the information on this site, leave any comments, and as an additional source, take a look at these amazing cancer discoveries…

Some New Cancer Drugs May Cause the Disease to Return

On the cover of today’s San Francisco Chronicle (Tuesday, March 3, 2009) there is an article about the findings published in a report by UC San Francisco scientists that suggests certain cancer drugs that have shown promise to extend the lives of patents are now causing the cancer not only to return, but possibly spread more aggressively. 

The two drugs that are mentioned are Pfizer’s Sutent and Genentech’s Avastin.  Both of these drugs work on the premise of a tactic called “anti-angiogenesis.”  Anti-angiogenesis in cancer research works by blocking the blood vessels that are feeding the tumor, thereby starving the tumor of blood that nourishes its growth.  The idea is that if you starve the tumor it will eventually die.  The idea was originated by the late Judah Folkman in 1971, which opened the door to the idea of “targeted therapies.”  However, no drug company was successful with the angiogenesis strategy until Genentech in 2004 with Avastin.  Since then, Genentech’s competitors have released numerous drugs based on the idea of angiogenesis inhibitors. 

The report suggests, according to one of the senior authors, Douglas Hanahan, that when the tumor is starved of blood it reacts in sort of a “guerrilla warfare” type tactic by releasing individual cells into the body that can spread more cancerous growths in order to combat the starvation of blood.   This response to angiogenesis was proven in lab animals and is the basis of the UCSF research paper.    They theorize that if human cancers react in the same manner, this would explain why drugs such as Avastin and Sutent, are not the cures for cancers as previously hoped, but simply temporary barriers to cancerous tumors.  Although, the article does state, that despite this recent discovery, these drugs are a significant improvement over previous cancer fighting therapies.

Genentech’s Director of tumor biology, Greg Plowman, says that the report provides no evidence that Avastin triggers the release of more aggressive tumor cells in the body.  Even though Avastin is an antibody drug, it is significantly different than the one tested at UCSF for this paper.  Additionally, Avastin is given to patients in conjunction with chemotherapy who are being treated specifically for three types of cancer – colon, lung and breast cancers.

The UCSF report evidently did not factor in the use of chemotherapy in conjunction with the use of these anti-angiogenesis drugs.  Genentech is reportedly working on more drugs to be used in conjunction with Avastin.  “It’s a foundation for building on” according to Plowman. 

Studies such as this paper published by the UCSF scientists helps determine what is missing in these drugs and how the drug companies can fill in the gaps.  The report is not meant to suggest that these drugs are bad and that people should stop using them. 

By: Chris Sloan

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