From serendipity to design: the evolution of drug development in oncology

Although screening of natural products remains the major method of discovering new anticancer drugs, newer techniques of rational drug design, computer-aided drug design, and combinatorial synthesis promise to broaden the scope of compounds available for screening. Recent changes in Food and Drug Administration rules allow for accelerated approval of drugs for treating cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, although the three-phase process of clinical trials remains largely unchanged.