One of the most troubling and complex diseases of the modern era has undoubtably been cancer. Millions are diagnosed and many of them ultimately die from the illness.
According to the Boston Globe, a firm called Verastem Inc. is now preforming clinical trials on patients with ovarian cancer testing a new drug named VS-6063. The "small-molecule" drug will attack cancer cells that are resistance to traditional cancer treatment such as chemotherapy. Researchers believe that in order to prevent cancer cells from surviving and replicating you must reduce the production of FAK, a protein produced in the body.
When I read this article I felt a sense of connection to the subject. When I was 11-years-old my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer but luckily she has been in remission for nearly ten years since. As she recovered I began noticing more things related to the disease, as public awareness rose and more charities addressed those suffering from cancer. However, besides my connection to the illness, I have always found it fascinating how difficult it is to cure. The seemingly intelligent cells learn to adapt to treatment and become immune to certain aspects of the drugs or therapy.
Thankfully there are people like Sean J. Morrison the director of the Children's Medical Research Institute in Dallas who dedicate their lives to fighting a deadly disease. Those that are apart of this scientific research feel confident that they have found something that better reduces residual ovarian cancer cells. This Boston Globe article discusses in-depth the research being done while demonstrating the positive strides that science is making to help cure this sickness.
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