Among other new treatments that home in on cancer cells are Genentech's breast cancer drug, Herceptin, which was approved in 1998, and Novartis Pharmaceutical's STI-571, or Gleevec, approved by the FDA on Thursday after showing impressive power against chronic myelogenous leukemia. However, experts say these are just the start. Now almost every company has several in development. There is a plethora of new drugs. Dr. John Mendelsohn, now president of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, developed an antibody that clogs up a chemical docking post, called a receptor, on the surface of cancer cells.
Some cancer cells produce large amounts of molecules called growth factors.
These stick to the receptors, triggering the cells to divide. This way, the cancer stimulates itself to grow. But by covering up the receptor, the antibody breaks cancer's feedback loop. While this may not kill cancer by itself, doctors say it appears to make tumors more vulnerable to the effects of chemotherapy. The only common side effect of the treatment was an acne-like skin rash.