Personalized Medicine Research Paper

Personalized Medicine

Thanks to modernized medicine, there are several different drugs that can be implemented in various ways to help people in personalized means.

The drug Trastuzumab is used for some breast cancers and stomach cancers. It is used for cancers that have large amounts of a protein called HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2). The drug uses monoclonal antibodies, which is a new type of "targeted" cancer therapy. In this type of therapy, antibodies attach to an antigen to mark it for destruction by the body's immune system. Scientists analyze specific antigens on the surface of cancer cells to determine a protein to match the antigen, and then work to create a special antibody that will attach to the target antigen;

this allows the treatment to target specific cells, causing less toxicity to healthy cells. Monoclonal antibody therapy can only be done for cancers where the specific antigens/antibodies have been identified. Trastuzumab personally works by targeting the HER2/neu receptor on cancer cells. The HER2 gene produces a protein receptor on the cell surface that signals normal cell growth, however, some cancerous tissue has HER2/neu overexpression, which triggers the cells to divide/multiply very fast. Trastuzumab attaches to the receptors to prevent cells from multiplying, preventing further cancer growth and slowing cancer progression. It also works by stimulating an immune mechanism.
The drug Imatinib is used to treat Leukemia, and other various disorders/cancers of the white blood cells. It is also used to treat certain types of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), type of tumor that grows in the walls of the digestive passages. The drug is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors, specifically Imatinib is a protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitor. It works by blocking the action of the abnormal protein that signals the cancer cells to multiply rapidly. Imatinib inhibits the Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase, which is the abnormality created by the Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. It suppresses proliferation and causes apoptosis in cells that are Bcr-Abl positive. The drug also hinders the receptor responsible for platelet derived growth factor and stem cell factor (c-kit). Imatinib becomes personalized when it affects different tyrosine kinases, which can be turned on or off depending on the type and what stage of cancer the person has.