![]() Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the last decade. Several agents have received approval from the U.S. Molecular targeted therapy is a new approach to cancer treatment. rituximab and trastuzumab were approved during the late 1990s to treat lymphoma and breast cancer, respectively. With an increased understanding of the biology of cancer, there are now several therapeutic monoclonal antibodies available. This work was a stepping stone to a new era of hormone therapy, with the introduction of drugs like tamoxifen and anastrozole, etc. Charles Huggins won a Nobel Prize in 1966 for investigations on hormone therapy in prostate cancer. studied the association of translocation of chromosomes 9 and 22 to several leukemias, which later led to developing the first molecular targeted treatments years later (imatinib). And drugs like thiopurines (e.g., 6-mercaptopurine), 5-fluorouracil came into the forefront of cancer treatment. The successful management of choriocarcinoma and leukemias with methotrexate led to further investigations in cancer chemotherapy. Farber et al., in 1947, showed success in the treatment of childhood leukemia by using antimetabolites with antifolate activity, called aminopterin, later be known as methotrexate. The discovery of actinomycin D pioneered the search for more antitumor antibiotics, including anthracyclines, mitomycin, and bleomycin. Publication of the Lindskog article suggesting the success of nitrogen mustard in the treatment of lymphoma had a considerable initial effect on the development of cancer chemotherapy, including oral derivatives like chlorambucil and ultimately cyclophosphamide. As micrometastases and recurrence of cancer after surgery and radiation therapy became evident, combination chemotherapy started gaining significance. Radiotherapy ad surgery were the mainstays of cancer management in the 1960s. Historical documents suggest the use of arsenicals started in the 1900s. He was also the first scientist to study animal models to screen a series of chemicals regarding their potential activity against diseases. The term “chemotherapy” was coined by German chemist Paul Ehrlich who investigated the use of drugs to treat infectious diseases. The three events that led to the development of cancer treatment began with three events in the last century: the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen, the use of transplantable animal-tumor models in cancer research, and the first surgical procedure developed by Halsted (radical mastectomy).
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