Summary: Despite decades of research, cancer continues to be a major cause of death in the United States. The disease is traditionally treated by a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, which can have severe side effects. Recent advances in cancer biology have led to the development of targeted drugs as new and effective treatment options for some types of cancer. Dr. Charles Sawyers presents an overview of cancer biology and describes how understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in a type of cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia, resulted in the development of Gleevec, one of the first targeted cancer drugs.
