Once the genetic origins of cancer were firmly established, researchers began working to identify the genetic anomalies that corresponded to the different forms of the disease. If a gene was connected to a certain type of cancer, the hope was to find a drug to target that gene. Said Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center oncologist Alan Houghton, "The life and death of cells is being worked out, and the dozens and dozens of molecules in the body that participate in those pathways are now becoming targets for therapy."47

A variety of approaches were explored to combat cancer with molecular-level chemotherapy. Researchers aimed to create safer, smarter, better drugs, and work proceeded on multiple fronts. By the 1990s, the era of molecular smart bombs had begun.

The Antibody Philosophy

In 1986 two men who were waiting in an airport struck up a conversation. It turned out that they shared...