★Over the past three decades, cancer treatment has undergone considerable progress. The emergence of targeted therapies, combined with specific imaging, has radically changed the approach and prognosis of many patients.
★This book explains in simple terms how breakthroughs came about and how they are being used.

Over the past three decades, cancer treatment has undergone considerable progress. The emergence of targeted therapies, combined with specific imaging, has radically changed the approach and prognosis of many patients. The aim of this book is to explain in simple terms how these breakthroughs came about and how they are being used. This involves a few detours into cancer cells and the proteins and receptors on their surfaces. The book also looks at tumor antigens that can be recognized by specific antibodies which, when injected into patients, bind to and neutralize tumor cells, blocking tumor growth. They can also be combined with molecules that are toxic to the cell and have a targeted local impact. Finally, they can be coupled with radioactive atoms, enabling tumors to be detected by PET scans. Nowadays, these biological vectors make it possible to specifically detect cancer sites, map them precisely, target therapeutic agents and assess their efficiency.

Patrick Bourguet, a Supélec engineer, a physician and professor of biophysics and nuclear medicine at the University of Rennes Faculty of Medicine until 2019, was Director of the Eugène Marquis Cancer Center in Rennes. He is currently President of the Ille et Vilaine Regional Cancer League.