Bethesda, MD: The Federation of American Societies for
Experimental Biology (FASEB) is pleased to announce its release of the latest
edition of the Breakthroughs in Bioscience series: "Conquering Cancer with
Drugs from Nature's Medicine Cabinet". Also available as a
downloadable podcast, the article is the second of a two-part series that
discusses the basic research foundations of the development of natural
product-derived medicines (see part one here) and specifically focuses on
cancer treatments.
In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA)
approval of Taxol, which derives from the Pacific yew tree, increased the
five-year survival rate of metastatic ovarian cancer patients from 20 to 80
percent. More recently, seven
anti-cancer drugs resulting from natural compounds were approved by the FDA,
while seven more are currently in the drug-development pipeline.
The Breakthroughs in Bioscience series is a collection of
illustrated articles, published by FASEB, that highlight the recent
developments in basic biomedical research and explain how they impact medicine
and human health. To obtain free copies of these publications, visit the FASEB
Breakthroughs in Bioscience web site at http://www.faseb.org/break-throughs
or contact FASEB's Office of Public Affairs at 301.634.7650.
FASEB is composed of 26 societies with more than 100,000
members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in
the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting
progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to
our member societies and collaborative advocacy.
Contact Person: Lawrence Green (lgreen@faseb.org)
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