World Cancer Day: Latest research and advances in cancer treatment

A common misconception that most people have about cancer is that suffering from cancer is the end of life. However it is not true as with numerous advances in the diagnosis and treatment options, you can improve the quality of life and get treated (if the condition is diagnosed in early stage). With advances in chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, hormonal therapies and vaccines, the current treatment options for cancer have better mechanism of action and fewer side effects. Here are some of the significant advances and research in the field of cancer treatment.

#1 ADVANCES IN CHEMOTHERAPY

Combination Chemotherapy

Currently, combination chemotherapy is a standard treatment used for various types of cancer. It is known to be one of the key reasons for increasing survival and remission rates in cancer treatment. Here’s what to expect at your first chemotherapy session.
For example, the introduction of combination chemotherapy containing cisplatin has led to the remission in the number of people with testicular cancer to approximately 95%.
This revolutionary drug combination therapy is so effective that it has raised the long term survival in metastatic testicular cancer patients to 80%, as compared to thirty years ago where 95% patients died within one year of diagnosis.
Apart from testicular tumours, Cisplatin has improved the outlook in other cancers especially ovarian cancers, oral cancers, lung cancers, etc.

Cancer treatment vaccines

Recently, the FDA approved the first ‘cancer treatment vaccine’ for advanced prostate cancer. There are a number of cancer treatment vaccines that are being tested that may have the potential to treat non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, melanoma and multiple myeloma.

Cancer Prevention Vaccines

Vaccines targeted against HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), which is responsible for 99.9% of cervical cancers, are now available in the market. There are many strains of HPV virus, which cause the cancer. These vaccines are effective against strains no. 16 and 18, which are responsible for around 85% of cervical cancer cases in India. However one must note that, vaccines are not a replacement for regular PAP smears, which must go on as per guidelines. Read more about can vaccination really prevent cervical cancer?

Molecular target agents

The normal body cells divide unnaturally, when a cancer forms and certain ‘factors’ or ‘cellular agents’ or even changes in normal ‘genes’ stimulate this growth of cancer. Recent advances in technology have enabled us to identify such ‘agents’ in different cancers. This has lead to the development of drugs targeted against such ‘agents’ to block them and restrict the unnatural multiplication of these cells. This is called as ‘Targeted Therapy’. To note, this is a major advance in biotechnology, because these so called ‘targets’ are really very minute (tiny sockets located on a cell, so you can imagine how small they must be!), and developing drugs against them needs very sophisticated techniques. Hence, these drugs are still very costly. Here’s what you should know about beating cancer with naturopathy and herbal medicine.

The first such targeted agent in clinical use was Trastuzumab, used in those breast cancers that over-express HER2 protein. HER2 positive breast cancers tend to be very aggressive; addition of Trastuzumab (Herceptin) has improved survival in such cancers. Currently, there are more than 50 such targeted agents available for various cancers. Some of the common target drugs include –

Imatinib mesylate for chronic myelogenous leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal cell tumors (GIST)
Sunitinib for advanced kidney cancer and imatinib-resistant GIST
Bevacizumab for advanced colorectal, non-small cell lung and kidney cancers
Bortezomib for multiple myeloma and a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

#2 ADVANCES IN RADIATION THERAPY

There have been a number of advancements in the field of radiation therapy – 3D conformal radiation therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and brachytherapy (radioactive seeds), which are designed to deliver high doses of radiation to tumors while minimizing the doses delivered to nearby healthy tissue. These new techniques have helped preserve greater amount of tissues, organs and limbs. Treatments to reduce the side effects of radiotherapy such as pain, mouth sores, nausea, and vomiting, have also been devised. The latest advances in radiation therapy that grabbed eyeballs are –

Cytotron: It is a revolutionary new treatment that promises to relieve cancer patients of their pain without the side effects of conventional treatments. Developed by Dr. R.V.Kumar of Ludhiana, the device arrests cancer cell growth by using a technique called degenerative tissue engineering. Instead of the very high frequency ionising radiation used in radiotherapy, RFQMR uses radio or sub-radio frequency, low power, non-ionising, non thermal electromagnetic waves. Read more about diet for cancer patients during and after treatment.

Stereotactic body radiation treatment (SBRT): Also known as stereotactic ablative radiation therapy, SBRT appears to be a very useful new approach for many otherwise difficult to treat cancers such as in the lung. This technique uses various angles to treat the tumor. In this technique the tumor is imaged and the robotic arm is adjusted to directly attack the cancer and not the normal tissue.

Robotic radiosurgery: An advancement of the CyberKnife, robotic radiosurgery is used to treat benign tumors, malignant tumors and other medical conditions. Invented by John R. Adler, it is a system that delivers radiotherapy with a lot more accuracy as compared to the traditional therapies. CyberKnife works in a two step fashion – it firstly produces highly accelerated particles which are then focussed onto the cancereous area through a robotic arm.

#3 ADVANCES IN HORMONAL THERAPY

The estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells can be stimulated to grow by the hormone estrogen. However, SERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators) interfere with this type of stimulated growth by preventing estrogen hormone from binding to its receptor. Hormonal therapy with tamoxifen and Aromatase Inhibitors (Letrozole, Anastrozole) is now standard in the treatment of women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, both as adjuvant therapy and in the treatment of advanced disease. These drugs have significantly improved survival rate in breast cancer. Read in detail about 5 interesting facts about biological therapy for cancer.

#4 ADVANCES IN CANCER SURGERIES

Breast Conservation surgery (BCS)

Currently, about 70% of breast cancers will be feasible for BCS (followed by compulsory radiation therapy). Even when a tumour is large, chemotherapy can be given prior to surgery, which achieves a good reduction in size of the tumour and makes it feasible for BCS.

Sphincter preservation surgery

A standard treatment for rectal cancers used to be complete removal of the rectum and anus and creation of a permanent opening on the abdominal wall (through which the faeces would come out and collect in a bag). With advances in stapler technology, for rectal tumours which are 4 cm or more (when measured from the anal verge), the part beyond the cancer can be preserved. The colon can then be brought down and stapled to the rectum so that the patient can pass stools in a normal manner.

Cosmetic Reconstructive surgery

This is used by cosmetic surgeons now for a variety of cancer surgeries (oral cancer, breast cancer etc.) Apart from the above, there have many other advances in techniques of surgery; usage of equipments (Laparoscopy, staplers, thermal devices etc.) and technical expertise to achieve what could not have been done earlier; less radical and organ preserving surgeries due to a better understanding of cancer etc.; all of which have led to better outcomes for the patient. Here are some common health insurance FAQ for cancer patients.

#5 ADVANCES IN THE TREATMENT OF SPECIFIC CANCERS

Brain and other Central Nervous System cancer

Antiangiogenesis agents: These drugs that block the growth of new blood vessels to tumors and have shown some promise in the treatment of gliomas which affect the brain. These are basically tumors that have a large number of blood vessels supplying it. These agents work by blocking the development of these blood vessels. Currently being tested in clinical trials, they have shown promising results.

3-dimensional conformal therapy, stereotactic radiation therapy, and intensity-modulated radiation therapy: These are all advanced radiation therapy techniques that target tumor tissue more precisely and reduce radiation damage to surrounding normal tissue. Read about can anti-cancer drugs cause cancer?

Prostate cancer

Advances in the treatment of prostate cancer include new surgical approaches and improvements in radiotherapy. For example, surgeons developed a technique that allows the removal of the prostate while minimizing nerve damage. In addition, laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgical methods have also improved outcomes. Another new technique called brachytherapy, involves the implantation of small source of radioactive substance (also called a seed) into the prostate. This is an effective treatment for early stage prostate cancer.

Hormonal therapies for prostate cancer include gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, which inhibit the pituitary gland’s ability to stimulate the testes. Even when it comes to chemotherapy, drugs such as cabazitaxel improve the survival of men whose prostate cancer no longer responds to other forms of treatment. Read more about can protein therapy replace chemotherapy in cancer treatment?

Image Source: Getty Images

Published: February 4, 2015 1:07 pm | Updated:February 24, 2015 12:56 pm

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