Dr. Benjamin Bonavida
Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
UCLA School of Medicine
While conventional treatment of primary cancers and metastatic cancers has relied on the use of non-selective cytotoxic drugs and radiation with significant toxicity for many decades, unfortunately, relapses and cancers resistant to those therapies emerge. We have witnessed in this decade, through extensive scientific investigations of the understanding of the cancer biology, the development of new therapeutics that are aimed selectively at the cancer cells with minimal toxicity to normal tissues. These could not have been achieved without the many years of extensive research investigations by scientists from the United States, Europe, and Israel. I am happy to report that through such efforts and your support, we now see the light at the end of the tunnel. What I am referring to, "selective drugs for cancer treatment," are therapies that are specific and targeted at the cancer and result in its destruction. We currently have several new FDA-approved therapies that consist of the use of antibodies directed against the tumor cells surface and drugs that are directed at the inside of the tumor cells and inhibiting their survival. For instance, the first FDA-approved antibody targeted to cancer cells was in 1997 (called Rituximab) that is used in treatment of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, as single agent or combination with chemotherapy. This was followed in 1999 by another antibody, Herceptin, directed against aggressive breast cancer. Recently, in 2004, we have witnessed the FDA approval of two different antibody treatments for colon cancer in combination with chemotherapy. One is ERBITUX and the other is Avastin. While ERBITUX is directed against a receptor on the tumor cell, Avastin is an antibody that is directed at blood vessels that feed the tumor cells and inhibits tumor cell survival. Scientists are currently investigating many other antibody-mediated therapies against other cancers. In addition, we have also witnessed the development of drugs that are directed at cancer cells at the molecular level. In 2001, the FDA approved the drug Gleevec for patients with the deadly chronic myelogous leukemia. This drug resulted from the culmination of years of work and years of investment from many people from many institutions and is the testament of the ground-breaking scientific research being taken throughout the world. More recently in 2003, the FDA approved Velcade for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. This drug is selective in inhibiting a particular system that was pioneered by the extensive work of our ICRF recipient Professorships Dr. Ciechanover and Hershko. As you can see, we are witnessing the emergence of many new cancer therapies with long lasting beneficial effects in otherwise deadly diseases. I am very optimistic in these latest developments and novel approaches in the selective and tailored treatments for the eradication of cancer. I am confident, through your support of ICRF, that we will soon experience many additional treatments for a variety of cancers. In addition, we will be able to detect early signs and cure the disease. I am asking for your continuous support and active participation in the fight against these deadly diseases in order to achieve new milestones. Thank you for your generosity.
