By Carolyn Y. Johnson
It’s become an increasingly common pattern in cancer treatment: a drug targeted to the specific genetic mutation that drives a cancer has an astonishing result, melting the tumor away. Months later, the cancer begins to grow back. Patients move on to the next drug—if there is one. The pattern may repeat, but all too often, cancers return and doctors and patients find themselves out of effective treatments.
Now, a new study authored by an unusual combination of Harvard mathematicians and oncologists from leading cancer centers uses modeling to predict how tumors mutate to foil the onslaught of targeted drugs. The study, published Tuesday in the journal, eLife, suggests that administering targeted medications one at a time may actually insure that the disease will not be cured. Instead, the study suggests that drugs should be given in combination.
