ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Biotechnology, which promoted revolutions in many fields, generates great expectations for the future, mainly in the pharmaceutical sector for the treatment of several diseases. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and due to its complexity and singularity, there are a number of challenges that limit the development of new drugs for antitumor therapies, making the research for cancer treatment one of the most exploited in the medical field. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this article is to identify trends of biotechnological advances that may have application in improving cancer therapies. METHOD: Information from patent applications of biotechnological drugs in the last five years was retrieved using Thomson Reuters Integrity database. RESULTS: Cancer is the leading therapeutic condition found in patent documents. The subject matter most cited in patent applications includes monoclonal antibodies, adoptive cell therapy, RNA interference and new vaccine peptides. CONCLUSION: The analysis of the documents has provided an overview of new biological alternatives for use in cancer treatment, showing potential avenues for years to come.
