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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Is Gene Therapy A Viable Option For Cancer Treatment?, Aliza Applebaum
Is Gene Therapy A Viable Option For Cancer Treatment?, Aliza Applebaum
The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences
The use of gene therapy as a medical treatment option was first introduced to the world in 1990, when a four-year-old girl became its first patient. Since then gene therapy has met great success but also severe drawback. Incidences with severely negative outcomes on patients gave gene therapy a bad name and many began skeptical towards its use, but the constant work and progress on the safety and effectiveness of gene therapy is making it a more viable route of treatment. This paper focuses on gene therapy as a form of cancer treatment. Viral insertion of the modified genetic material …
Active Immunotherapy And Adoptive Cell Transfer As An Effective Cancer Treatment, Philip Jay Cynamon
Active Immunotherapy And Adoptive Cell Transfer As An Effective Cancer Treatment, Philip Jay Cynamon
The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences
There are many ways to fight cancer using the body’s own immune system. Some methods include the administration of vaccines while others involve stimulatory factors injected near tumors. One promising method is enlisting the help of T cells. To fight cancer effectively, T cells must be able to recognize cancerous antigens and the environment in which these T cells reside must be conducive to their function, survival, and proliferation. This paper discusses a method of providing such an environment called adoptive cell transfer, as well as the elements that effect this protocol and the ways in which the environment can …
Epigenetics As A Cure For Cancer, Sara Rivka Margolis
Epigenetics As A Cure For Cancer, Sara Rivka Margolis
The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences
Epigenetics is an emerging research topic that is being tested as a potential cure for cancer. Epigenetics is a non-genetic influence that shapes the phenotype. Epigenetics effects gene expression, but does not cause any changes in the DNA. DNA methylation patterns is one such epigenetic change in the cell that has huge potential for cancer treatment. Scientists have observed that many cancerous genes express signs of either hypermethylation or hypomethylation. The key for the treatment is that epigenetic changes are reversible, which opens the door to potential drugs to cure cancer and other diseases.
Why Are People With Laron Syndrome Immune To Cancer?, Raquel Margolis
Why Are People With Laron Syndrome Immune To Cancer?, Raquel Margolis
The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences
Laron syndrome is a congenital autosomal recessive disorder that is caused by a mutation in the growth hormone receptor. People with this syndrome have an insensitivity to growth hormone. Insulin-like growth factor 1 is produced by the liver in response to GH stimulus. It is responsible for systemic GH activities. If there is something wrong with the growth hormone receptor there will be decreased levels of IGF-1. Low IGF-1 levels cause physical deformities notable short stature. Additionally, people with low levels of IGF-1 have a natural resistance to cancer. This article discusses the ways that the decreased levels of IGF-1 …
Transposon Based Gene Therapy As A Treatment For Cancer, Jacob Stauber
Transposon Based Gene Therapy As A Treatment For Cancer, Jacob Stauber
The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences
Gene therapy is the use of genes to treat or prevent diseases. Diseases such as cancer, which are difficult to treat using conventional methods, can be treated using gene therapy. The transport of the therapeutic transgene can be accomplished using viral or non-viral methods. However, widespread use of viral vectors is limited due to its high cost of manufacture and safety concern. Non-viral vectors are limited in their effectiveness. The use of transposons such as the Sleeping Beauty transposon system can effectively deliver the transgene with less concern than viral vectors. This review discusses the various vectors and treatment strategies …
Parp Inhibition: A Method Of Treating And Preventing Certain Cancers, Chana Tropper
Parp Inhibition: A Method Of Treating And Preventing Certain Cancers, Chana Tropper
The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences
Breast cancer is one of the largest causes of cancer related deaths in women. Less than 5% of breast cancer cases are genetically inherited and most often develop after menopause. The BRCA gene mutation is a genetic inheritance which increases ones chances of developing breast cancer at a young age tenfold. Recent research has proposed a method of treatment in genetically inherited breast cancers by taking advantage of the impaired DNA repair pathway caused by the BRCA mutation. The combination of a BRCA mutation, which leads to deficient double strand DNA repair, and PARP inhibition, which leads to deficient single …
Are Oncolytic Viruses A Cure For Cancer? A Look At Reovirus, Adenovirus, And Hsv-1 In Cancer Treatment, Yehuda Rosenberg
Are Oncolytic Viruses A Cure For Cancer? A Look At Reovirus, Adenovirus, And Hsv-1 In Cancer Treatment, Yehuda Rosenberg
The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences
This paper aims to evaluate the option of utilizing Oncolytic Viruses as a viable treatment in fighting cancer. However, due to the broad nature of the subject, a more limited purview is necessary. With that in mind, the focus will be on a few of the more researched ones: Reovirus, Adenovirus, and HSV-1. In each case, we will examine what makes each of these potential options. This will include an examination of each one's tumor-specificity. Cancer and viral physiology will be discussed as necessary to examine the distinct protein expressions in tumor cells, so that the virus's method of battling …
Cancer Immunotherapy Treatments, Shifra Sadowsky
Cancer Immunotherapy Treatments, Shifra Sadowsky
The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in American, with over half a million deaths from cancer reported in 2009. Cancer chemotherapy treatments were developed in the nineteen hundreds and remain the backbone of current treatments; however, they have some limitations. New immunotherapy cancer treatments, where biologic agents are given to patients to influence the body’s natural immune response, are being researched. Among these immunotherapy treatments are co-inhibition blockade of T cells, and combination blockade treatments together with chemotherapy treatment. This review will discuss T cell activation and the role of T cell coinhibitors such as CTLA-4 and PD-1 …