Abstract
In general, drug design in cancer therapy tends to focus on inhibiting cell growth. In cancer cells, there is abnormal growth activity which is often correlated with the high activity of certain proteins in the tumour cells. If such proteins can be identified and their role in cell growth verified, then limiting their activity by binding an inhibitor molecule at the active site is the conventional approach used in most anticancer drug discovery. One problem with this approach is that the drugs target proliferating cells only and hence, at best, limit tumour growth. The cancer cells are not killed. To kill tumour cells is, of course, a risky process; it is crucial to distinguish adequately between healthy cells and diseased cells.
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Pauptit, R., Weston, S., Rowsell, S., Derbyshire, D., Tucker, A. (1998). Immunoconjugates as Anti-Cancer Agents. In: Codding, P.W. (eds) Structure-Based Drug Design. NATO ASI Series, vol 352. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9028-0_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9028-0_12
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