Chapter 12 - Antibiotics in the management of tuberculosis and cancer

Abstract

Drugs that were formerly thought to be life-saving miracles are now rendered useless due to pathogen's defense mechanisms. It is more difficult to fight or cure the infectious disease and to develop new antibiotics due to increase in antibiotic resistance. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the world's most deadly infections and causes of mortality. Recent advances in gene therapy, genetic engineering, and last but not least, immunobiology, establish a reasonable foundation for the research and development of more effective tuberculosis vaccines. Cancer is the uncontrolled proliferation of cells in our bodies that might result in death. Normal cells are typically invaded and destroyed by cancer cells. Due to the complicated nature of cancer, it is necessary to analyze at molecular level, and we hope biotechnologists will develop fast and promising way of more techniques and discovery items in order to decrease the cause of death and to limit suffering percentage of cancerous patients, increasing the drug efficacy, selectivity, and mode of action. Because of advancements in screening, targeted and immunological therapy, big data, computational techniques, and major new knowledge of cancer biology, many diseases could be prevented, detected, diagnosed, and treated. In order to combat the global problem of antibiotic resistance, fundamental research and biotechnology are critical. The widespread adoption of these strategies will be critical in the creation of novel antibiotics for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis and cancer.