Cancer

The increased knowledge of cancer at the biochemical and genetic level has led to many advances toward better diagnosis and treatment of cancer, including the design of more specific drugs that are less toxic to normal tissue. This includes the use of antisense molecules, which are nucleic acid sequences that are complementary to the mRNA of a target gene. As the two sequences are complementary, they anneal and thus the mRNA is blocked from being translated into a protein, resulting in less of that particular protein being produced (such as growth factor receptors). Drugs specific in blocking angiogenesis are able to control the growth and spread of tumors, especially when used in combination with other treatments.