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After decades of hope and hype, this year saw the coming of age of the “magic
bullet” approach to cancer. Glivec, the first “small molecule” cancer therapy,
got the fastest US approval of any cancer drug in history for treating a rare
leukaemia. It proved successful against a stomach cancer, too, and to complete a
busy year it has been granted a British licence. Glivec alone won’t be a miracle
cure for cancer. But with at least six other Glivec-like drugs in trials, each
aimed at a different kind of cancer, it won’t be long before doctors can tailor
treatments to each patient.