World Cancer Day
Today we celebrate, honor, and raise awareness for all the people with cancer, all the people caring for people with cancer, and all the people researching cancer. And to quote @cwardo_warrior, “Cancer sucks, but because of all the amazing people in the cancer world, it’s not impossible.”
Here are some new developments in cancer research and treatment that are changing the landscape of patient care today and in the future:
Immunotherapy. This type of cancer treatment utilizes the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy continues to be an important area of research and treatment. Activating the immune system has led to some long term responses remission, particularly in cancers that have been resistant to chemotherapy. However, it has been challenging to understand why it works better in certain cancers then others. Some of the most common types of cancer (breast, colon, and prostate) don’t seem to respond well to current immunotherapy treatments.
Gut Microbiome. New evidence that microorganisms in our gut may influence what types of cancer we are more likely to develop and our response and ability to tolerate treatment. This is a fascinating and growing field of research.
Cancer Cell Microenvironment. Research is looking at the area around the cancer cell and how that may be reducing treatment effectiveness and/or feeding the cancer cell. The question is what can we manipulate in the cancer environment to cause cancer cell death?
Cancer Interception. This is looking at ways to attack cancer and “intercepting” cells before they develop into cancer. Examples of cancer interception are pap tests and colonoscopies, treating and removing cells before they develop into cancer. We know that once a cell becomes cancer it can be resistant to treatment and pre-cancerous cells can be easier to treat.
Here’s an interesting article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21636545
There is so much more to learn and so much research going on. World Cancer Day is day to “speak out and stand up for a cancer-free world.”
For more info: