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INTRODUCTION
Around the world, tremendous resources are being invested in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Europe and North America. Discovery and development of anticancer agents are the key focus of several pharmaceutical companies as well as nonprofit government and non-government organizations, like the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and the British Cancer Research Campaign (CRC). Identification of cytotoxic compounds led the development of anticancer therapeutics for several decades.(Ajit S. Narang and Divyakant S. Desai, 2009)
WHAT IS CANCER?
Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected. Cancer harms the body when damaged cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissue called tumors (except in the case of leukemia where cancer prohibits normal blood function by abnormal cell division in the blood stream). Tumors can grow and interfere with the digestive, nervous, and circulatory systems and they can release hormones that alter body function. Tumors that stay in one spot and demonstrate limited growth are generally considered to be benign.
(Ajit S. Narang and Divyakant S. Desai, 2009)
More dangerous, or malignant, tumors form when two things occur:
When a tumor successfully spreads to other parts of the body and grows, invading and destroying other healthy tissues, it is said to have metastasized. This process itself is called metastasis, and the result is a serious condition that is very difficult to treat and which leads to a very fatal condition.
Hence, there is a need for the more specific drug discovery for this fatal condition which either treats cancer or at least stop it’s metastasis at a particular stage. There are many types of the drug already present in the market to treat cancer but have a very high price due to the chemicals present in the drug.
The Anti-cancer drug either kills the cancer cells or modifies their growth. CANCER TREATMENT INVOLVES:
1. CHEMOTHERAPY.
2. RADIOTHERAPY.
3. IMMUNOTHERAPY.
4. SURGERY.
Around the world, tremendous resources are being invested in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Europe and North America. Discovery and development of anticancer agents are the key focus of several pharmaceutical companies as well as nonprofit government and non-government organizations, like the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and the British Cancer Research Campaign (CRC). Identification of cytotoxic compounds led the development of anticancer therapeutics for several decades.(Ajit S. Narang and Divyakant S. Desai, 2009)
WHAT IS CANCER?
Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected. Cancer harms the body when damaged cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissue called tumors (except in the case of leukemia where cancer prohibits normal blood function by abnormal cell division in the blood stream). Tumors can grow and interfere with the digestive, nervous, and circulatory systems and they can release hormones that alter body function. Tumors that stay in one spot and demonstrate limited growth are generally considered to be benign.
(Ajit S. Narang and Divyakant S. Desai, 2009)
More dangerous, or malignant, tumors form when two things occur:
- a cancerous cell manages to move throughout the body using the blood or lymph systems, destroying healthy tissue in a process called invasion
- that cell manages to divide and grow, making new blood vessels to feed itself in a process called angiogenesis.
When a tumor successfully spreads to other parts of the body and grows, invading and destroying other healthy tissues, it is said to have metastasized. This process itself is called metastasis, and the result is a serious condition that is very difficult to treat and which leads to a very fatal condition.
Hence, there is a need for the more specific drug discovery for this fatal condition which either treats cancer or at least stop it’s metastasis at a particular stage. There are many types of the drug already present in the market to treat cancer but have a very high price due to the chemicals present in the drug.
The Anti-cancer drug either kills the cancer cells or modifies their growth. CANCER TREATMENT INVOLVES:
1. CHEMOTHERAPY.
2. RADIOTHERAPY.
3. IMMUNOTHERAPY.
4. SURGERY.