system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
If we've created a drug "Gleevec" to stop a couple forms of cancer. Why can't we create more drugs like this? (My understanding is it has to do with this cancer's dependence on a particular kinase. Are there other cancers that have similar dependencies we could inhibit?)
gpt
You've basically touched on the problem in your question-every cancer is different, and they vary wildly in their dependence on different molecules. The other thing to consider is that Gleevec is used to treat a fusion protein. In CML, there is a translocation of two genes, and the chimeric protein BCR-Abl is formed that is totally dysregulated. What's convenient about treating it is that noncancerous cells don't express this fusion protein, so it can be targeted without affecting the normal healthy tissue.

Many cancers aren't caused by these unique fusion proteins though, making their treatment very difficult.