Write a Cancer Review paper covering one of the recommended topic related to current cancer research.
Recommended topic:
Cancer immunotherapies
Galluzzi L, Chan TA, Kroemer G, Wolchok JD, López-Soto A. The hallmarks of
successful anticancer immunotherapy. Sci Transl Med. 2018 Sep 19;10(459). pii:
eaat7807. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aat7807. Review. PubMed PMID: 30232229.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
Cancer Immunotherapies: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions
Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a groundbreaking approach in the field of oncology, offering new hope for patients with various types of cancer. With the publication of the review titled “The hallmarks of successful anticancer immunotherapy” by Galluzzi et al. in Science Translational Medicine in 2018, significant advancements have been made in understanding the principles and outcomes of immunotherapies in cancer treatment.
Literature Review
Immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, has revolutionized cancer treatment by harnessing the power of the immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of immunotherapies in improving survival rates and quality of life for cancer patients. The review by Galluzzi et al. highlights key hallmarks that contribute to the success of anticancer immunotherapy, including immune cell activation, tumor antigen recognition, and immune memory formation.
Recent literature has explored the mechanisms of action of different immunotherapeutic agents, the role of the tumor microenvironment in modulating immune responses, and strategies to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapies. Clinical trials have shown promising results in a variety of cancers, including melanoma, lung cancer, and hematologic malignancies. However, challenges such as resistance to therapy, immune-related adverse events, and patient selection criteria remain areas of active investigation.
Gaps in Knowledge
Despite the significant progress in cancer immunotherapy research, several gaps in knowledge persist. These include understanding mechanisms of primary and acquired resistance to immunotherapies, optimizing combination strategies to enhance treatment responses, identifying predictive biomarkers for patient stratification, and developing strategies to mitigate immune-related toxicities.
Research Question
Research Question: How can we overcome resistance mechanisms to cancer immunotherapies and improve treatment outcomes for patients with advanced malignancies?
Hypothesis: Combination therapies targeting multiple immune checkpoints will enhance anti-tumor immune responses and overcome resistance to single-agent immunotherapy in cancer patients.
This research question aligns with the PICO principle by focusing on a specific patient population (patients with advanced malignancies), intervention (combination immunotherapies), comparison (single-agent immunotherapy), and outcome (improved treatment outcomes). By investigating this question, we aim to address the gap in knowledge regarding resistance mechanisms to immunotherapies and propose novel strategies to enhance therapeutic efficacy.
In conclusion, cancer immunotherapies represent a paradigm shift in cancer treatment, offering new avenues for personalized and targeted therapy. By exploring innovative approaches to overcome challenges in immunotherapy and conducting further research to optimize treatment strategies, we can continue to advance the field and improve outcomes for cancer patients.
References:
– Galluzzi L, Chan TA, Kroemer G, Wolchok JD, López-Soto A. The hallmarks of successful anticancer immunotherapy. Sci Transl Med. 2018 Sep 19;10(459). pii: eaat7807. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aat7807. Review. PubMed PMID: 30232229.
