๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ค๐๐๐
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Eko had his light pink hood pulled far past his face as he weaved through the market near the docks earlier that day. Without him telling them so, no one could have guess he was a noble. Eko was fine with this. The less attention, the less of a chance his parents will find out about his whereabouts. He had run away from home to attend the academy, but that wasn't the only reason. Eko wanted to escape his abusive parents. So when one of his favorite servants informed him about the academy last year, he quickly, and secretly, applied and ran off the attend. And, being in a neutral country, his parents wouldn't be allowed to take him home (or so he hoped). He planned on becoming a Court Mage after graduation, and that proved very possible after seeing he was classed as a high A Class. He still didn't quite understand his Raiment himself, and after being taught more about Raiments he was left more confused. He was classed under 'Enhancer', but he thought that Enhancers could have the option to enhance themselves, not having a permanent enhancement. Then again, Eko had never heard of another Raiment that was always active. Eko had brought quite the large amount of money with him, so he decided to buy a trip in a carriage to the Academy, once he found one. This gave him some privacy on his way, as Eko was just about to have a mental breakdown with all the things happening around him during his short time at the busy docks. In his few minutes of exposure, Eko noticed all the creaky planks on the dock, all the different types of fish in the net nearby, and every chip in the paint on the walls of the buildings. He didn't have photographic memory, but Eko was about as close as you could get. The carriage rolled to a halt, making Eko jump. He was twirling his hair, a hobby the fidgety boy started doing when he was nervous, he stepped out of the dimly lit carriage, and did a double take when he saw the enormous structure before him. Eko was just about ready to hop back in the cozy carriage when the horses began to trot away. Eko closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Then it happened again. A bird chirped, startling Eko to the point of jumping back a bit. One of the horses trotting away made a particularly loud stomp, making Eko jump again. Yep, this is it, I'm over. He thought with a shiver. Eko had been so excited to leave his parents, he hadn't thought of how overwhelming the Academy would be. He pulled his hood back, and nodded at the guards at the gate.
"E-E-Eko Lassila. I-I'm a-a f-first year." He managed. Nope, Eko was not the greatest at interacting with people. One of the guards sighed, and signaled for someone to open the gate. The sudden creaking of metal made Eko's hands instinctively shoot up to cover his face. Another sigh from the guard, and Eko lowered his hands in embarrassment. The guard gestured for him to enter, so he did so. Eko needed a break before going inside. The gate closed behind him with another creak, making Eko jump again. Sighing, Eko sat down on a bench, closing his eyes and taking slow breaths again. But he wasn't alone. The sound of laughter drifted over to him, ruining his concentration to be calm. He jumped again. Sighing, Eko closed his eyes a third time, but his efforts to block everything out were futile. Another reason he wanted to attend the academy. To figure out how the heck to turn his Raiment off. He just sat, twisting his hair and swinging his feet back and forth. Then he hears a small chirp emit from his bag, which startled him. Oh no! He had forgotten about Coco, his pet bird. He quickly retrieved her, petting her and whispering 'I'm so sorry' and just 'sorry' over and over again. He placed her in his lap, where she snuggled up against him. Animals always made him calmer, so Eko stroked her with his thumb, eyes closed, waiting to drift off. Many targeted cancer therapies have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat specific types of cancer. Others are being studied in clinical trials (research studies with people), and many more are in preclinical testing (research studies with animals).
How are targets for targeted cancer therapies identified?
The development of targeted therapies requires the identification of good targetsโthat is, targets that play a key role in cancer cell growth and survival. (It is for this reason that targeted therapies are sometimes referred to as the product of "rational" drug design.)
One approach to identify potential targets is to compare the amounts of individual proteins in cancer cells with those in normal cells. Proteins that are present in cancer cells but not normal cells or that are more abundant in cancer cells would be potential targets, especially if they are known to be involved in cell growth or survival. An example of such a differentially expressed target is the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 protein (HER-2). HER-2 is expressed at high levels on the surface of some cancer cells. Several targeted therapies are directed against HER-2, including trastuzumab (Herceptinยฎ), which is approved to treat certain breast and stomach cancers that overexpress HER-2.
Another approach to identify potential targets is to determine whether cancer cells produce mutant (altered) proteins that drive cancer progression. For example, the cell growth signaling protein BRAF is present in an altered form (known as BRAF V600E) in many melanomas. Vemurafenib (Zelborafยฎ) targets this mutant form of the BRAF protein and is approved to treat patients with inoperable or metastatic melanoma that contains this altered BRAF protein.
Researchers also look for abnormalities in chromosomes that are present in cancer cells but not in normal cells. Sometimes these chromosome abnormalities result in the creation of a fusion gene (a gene that incorporates parts of two different genes) whose product, called a fusion protein, may drive cancer development. Such fusion proteins are potential targets for targeted cancer therapies. For example, imatinib mesylate (Gleevecยฎ) targets the BCR-ABL fusion protein, which is made from pieces of two genes that get joined together in some leukemia cells and promotes the growth of leukemic cells.
How are targeted therapies developed?
Once a candidate target has been identified, the next step is to develop a therapy that affects the target in a way that interferes with its ability to promote cancer cell growth or survival. For example, a targeted therapy could reduce the activity of the target or prevent it from binding to a receptor that it normally activates, among other possible mechanisms.
Most targeted therapies are either small molecules or monoclonal antibodies. Small-molecule compounds are typically developed for targets that are located inside the cell because such agents are able to enter cells relatively easily. Monoclonal antibodies are relatively large and generally cannot enter cells, so they are used only for targets that are outside cells or on the cell surface.
Candidate small molecules are usually identified in what are known as "high-throughput screens," in which the effects of thousands of test compounds on a specific target protein are examined. Compounds that affect the target (sometimes called "lead compounds" are then chemically modified to produce numerous closely related versions of the lead compound. These related compounds are then tested to determine which are most effective and have the fewest effects on nontarget molecules.
"E-E-Eko Lassila. I-I'm a-a f-first year." He managed. Nope, Eko was not the greatest at interacting with people. One of the guards sighed, and signaled for someone to open the gate. The sudden creaking of metal made Eko's hands instinctively shoot up to cover his face. Another sigh from the guard, and Eko lowered his hands in embarrassment. The guard gestured for him to enter, so he did so. Eko needed a break before going inside. The gate closed behind him with another creak, making Eko jump again. Sighing, Eko sat down on a bench, closing his eyes and taking slow breaths again. But he wasn't alone. The sound of laughter drifted over to him, ruining his concentration to be calm. He jumped again. Sighing, Eko closed his eyes a third time, but his efforts to block everything out were futile. Another reason he wanted to attend the academy. To figure out how the heck to turn his Raiment off. He just sat, twisting his hair and swinging his feet back and forth. Then he hears a small chirp emit from his bag, which startled him. Oh no! He had forgotten about Coco, his pet bird. He quickly retrieved her, petting her and whispering 'I'm so sorry' and just 'sorry' over and over again. He placed her in his lap, where she snuggled up against him. Animals always made him calmer, so Eko stroked her with his thumb, eyes closed, waiting to drift off. Many targeted cancer therapies have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat specific types of cancer. Others are being studied in clinical trials (research studies with people), and many more are in preclinical testing (research studies with animals).
How are targets for targeted cancer therapies identified?
The development of targeted therapies requires the identification of good targetsโthat is, targets that play a key role in cancer cell growth and survival. (It is for this reason that targeted therapies are sometimes referred to as the product of "rational" drug design.)
One approach to identify potential targets is to compare the amounts of individual proteins in cancer cells with those in normal cells. Proteins that are present in cancer cells but not normal cells or that are more abundant in cancer cells would be potential targets, especially if they are known to be involved in cell growth or survival. An example of such a differentially expressed target is the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 protein (HER-2). HER-2 is expressed at high levels on the surface of some cancer cells. Several targeted therapies are directed against HER-2, including trastuzumab (Herceptinยฎ), which is approved to treat certain breast and stomach cancers that overexpress HER-2.
Another approach to identify potential targets is to determine whether cancer cells produce mutant (altered) proteins that drive cancer progression. For example, the cell growth signaling protein BRAF is present in an altered form (known as BRAF V600E) in many melanomas. Vemurafenib (Zelborafยฎ) targets this mutant form of the BRAF protein and is approved to treat patients with inoperable or metastatic melanoma that contains this altered BRAF protein.
Researchers also look for abnormalities in chromosomes that are present in cancer cells but not in normal cells. Sometimes these chromosome abnormalities result in the creation of a fusion gene (a gene that incorporates parts of two different genes) whose product, called a fusion protein, may drive cancer development. Such fusion proteins are potential targets for targeted cancer therapies. For example, imatinib mesylate (Gleevecยฎ) targets the BCR-ABL fusion protein, which is made from pieces of two genes that get joined together in some leukemia cells and promotes the growth of leukemic cells.
How are targeted therapies developed?
Once a candidate target has been identified, the next step is to develop a therapy that affects the target in a way that interferes with its ability to promote cancer cell growth or survival. For example, a targeted therapy could reduce the activity of the target or prevent it from binding to a receptor that it normally activates, among other possible mechanisms.
Most targeted therapies are either small molecules or monoclonal antibodies. Small-molecule compounds are typically developed for targets that are located inside the cell because such agents are able to enter cells relatively easily. Monoclonal antibodies are relatively large and generally cannot enter cells, so they are used only for targets that are outside cells or on the cell surface.
Candidate small molecules are usually identified in what are known as "high-throughput screens," in which the effects of thousands of test compounds on a specific target protein are examined. Compounds that affect the target (sometimes called "lead compounds" are then chemically modified to produce numerous closely related versions of the lead compound. These related compounds are then tested to determine which are most effective and have the fewest effects on nontarget molecules.
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๐จ๐๐ฅ๐: Just some NPCs right now. ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ช๐๐๐: A purse/bag. ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ: As seen ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: Jumpy, overwhelmed. ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐: Academy Courtyard
๐ ๐ ๐: Poor kid.
๐จ๐๐ฅ๐: Just some NPCs right now. ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ช๐๐๐: A purse/bag. ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ: As seen ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: Jumpy, overwhelmed. ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐: Academy Courtyard
๐ ๐ ๐: Poor kid.
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