The articles specifically write about the human side of drug trials by following five patients who entered the trial as the last resort, chronicling their miraculous remissions and the struggles involved in bringing these kinds of drugs to market. PLX 4032, developed by Roche for treating melanoma, was in the first phase. New drugs must undergo 4 stages in testing which are outlined below:

Dr. Keith Flaherty, the lead oncologist from the University of Pennsylvania, in charge of the Phase 1 trials, was investigating ways in which certain genetic mutations that cause melanoma could be turned off. To qualify for entry into the trial, patients had to have the genetic mutation that stimulated the cancer. And the results for PLX 4032 were nothing short of astonishing: tumors disappeared.

The articles detail the frustrations dealt with by patients, families and doctors when trying to push for combination drug therapy or when trying to speed up drug approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition, drug companies do not necessarily cooperate with each other as Dr. Flaherty finds out when he urges several companies to combine their drugs in one trial in order to target several different pathways in much the same way that HIV patients receive a “cocktail” of medications that slow replication of the HIV virus.

The articles make compelling reading. Here are the links:

Target Cancer: A Roller Coaster Chase for a Cure

Target Cancer: After Long Fight, Drug Gives Sudden Reprieve

Target Cancer: Recovery, Relapse, Reinvention

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in clinical trials (not necessarily this one) you can research all the trials available by going to clincialtrials.gov . There you can search a large database of federally and privately funded trials available in the U.S. and around the world.

Related posts:

1. New Risk Factors for Melanoma At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology...
2. Solar Lentigo (Liver Spots) Solar lentigo (liver spots) are common, flat brown spots that...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Some background first though: Vodafone, the world’s leading mobile telecommunications giant, launched the Wireless Innovation Project as part of the foundation work it does. They invited innovators to submit their ideas on how wireless technology can solve health and disaster relief problems around the world. Out of over a 100 applicants, Vodafone selected three submissions to fund.

Here’s a brief description of the three projects that will be funded:

A.N.Ts

• $300,000 grant to Gil Zussman’s team at Columbia University, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Depts
• An acronym for Active Networked Tags, these tags can be embedded in buildings and on clothing to provide data on where victims may be located during man-made or natural disasters such as fires and earthquakes. The energy to power these devices comes from light or movement. 

CelloPhone

• $200,000 grant to UCLA’s Dr. Aydogan Ozcan and his team of electrical engineers
• Using a cell phone platform, this lens-free system is able to analyze bodily fluids relying on a revolutionary technique of imaging called Shadow Imaging.
• This device will be able to diagnose, treat and track disease and illnesses in poor countries that lack the infrastructure traditionally used in modern health care systems.

CellScope

• $100,000 grant to the BioEngineering Dept at UCLA, Berkley led by Dr. Daniel Fletcher
• Uses a microscopic lens that attaches on to a cell phone camera.
• Enables on-site diagnosis and transmission of information on everything from skin diseases to systemic illnesses which can be uploaded as part of a personal medical record or or used in epidemiological tracking.

Related posts:

1. CelloPhone: Wireless Technology Used in Treating Diseases in 3rd World Countries One of 3 winners in the Vodafone Foundation Wireless...
2. Finally, An End to Restrictive Policies in Science & Research         In one of the recent issues of New Scientist,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.