Summary
In 1972, Dr. Janet Rowley discovered a new way to identify cancer patients. She found that a small section of chromosome 22 had been swapped for a larger one.
In the years that followed, she strongly advocated for the idea that the abnormalities were significant for cancer. She published her findings in 1973, with the CML translocation published in a single-author study in Nature.
Imatinib (sold as Gleevec or Glivec) earned approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 2001. The technology eased the identification of mutations and genetic abnormalities driving cancers.
Imatinib works by locking into a pocket of the BCR-ABL protein. Newer drugs, such as bosutinib and asciminib, bind to the same pocket.
Combination therapies could help prevent resistance from developing in the first place. Strategies include using two drugs that hit the same cancer target in different ways.
In June 2022, the FDA granted accelerated approval for the use of dabrafenib-trametinib combination therapy. The approval opened the combination therapy to patients with cancers of the colon, rectum, lung, thyroid, ovary, and brain.
NCI-MATCH wrapped up in 2023 after collecting results from 39 basket substudies. NCI has now moved on to next-generation trials, including ComboMATCH.
New menin inhibitors are being developed to block the growth of cancerous cells. The new menin inhibitor could be used to prevent the growth and spread of cancer.
Vorasidenib, the first new glioma drug to be developed in over 20 years, is now under review by the FDA. Researchers are eagerly watching the development of drugs that target enzymes that are mutated in AML and gliomas.
