Pfizer is becoming a global force in oncology. Researchers are working to find treatments that focus on specific targets important in tumor growth and patient survival. The Pfizer portfolio contains medicines currently being investigated for the treatment of stomach, liver, prostate, breast, pancreas and melanoma forms of cancer.
Pfizer's approach to the fight against cancer focuses on four different methods of treatment:
- Angiogenesis Inhibition: blocking the growth of the blood vessels which grow to, and 'feed', cancerous tumors.
- Immunotherapy: 'awakening' the body's immune system to help better fight cancer.
- Signal Transduction Inhibition: stopping the abnormal signals within cancer cells.
- Cytotoxics/Potentiators: exploiting the defects in cancer cells to stop them from repairing and replicating
Indications for medicines currently in phases of development, from Phase 1 through recent approval:
Cancer
Approaches for single medicines that treat multiple types and locations of cancer.
Conditions
Breast Cancer
A cancerous tumor of the breast tissue.
Colorectal Cancer
Cancer of the colon (large intestine) or the rectum (the end of the large intestine).
Melanoma
A malignant skin tumor that begins in the cells that produce skin coloring (melanocytes).
Lung Cancer
The abnormal growth of cells in lung tissue. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.
Pancreatic Cancer
A malignant tumor within the pancreas.
Thyroid Neoplasm
Cancer of the thyroid gland.