Cancer Treatments And Discussion Of Possible Drug Functions

Characteristics of Cancer Cells

1. They constantly and relentlessly reproduce.

2. The do not obey signals from other neighboring cells.

3. They do not anchor to other cells.

4. The do no specialize in any cell function. They remain immature.

Surgery is one of the main treatments for cancer. It is a local treatment. This means it only treats one particular part of the body. Which is, of course, the part the surgeon operates on. So if you have a cancer that is completely contained in one area and has not spread, surgery may cure it by removing the cancer cells. But because it is a local treatment, surgery may not be a good choice of treatment for people whose cancer has spread to another part of their body. Similarly, if you have a cancer of the lymphatic system or blood system, surgery won't help because the cancer cells could be anywhere in your body. If surgery is possible, it may well cure a cancer. This will depend on whether the cancer can be completely removed, whether a border of healthy tissue, free of cancer cells, is removed with the cancer, and whether the cancer has already spread before surgery.

If drugs were developed that selectively targeted certain points in the cell cycle in order to halt cell division, then there are several points at which they could operate. First, DNA replication in the S stage could be halted. Without a proper copy of DNA from the parent cell, there cannot be a new cell because it would not have any basis of genetic instructions. Next, the movement of the centrioles to opposite ends of the cell during prophase could be halted. The centrioles are what separate the chromatids from one another so that they can be sorted into the two new daughter cells (in a later stage). If the chromatids cannot separate, then they