Here we discuss the emerging advances in cancer research.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, but significant advances in research are offering new hope for patients. From immunotherapy to precision medicine to cancer vaccines, scientists are developing innovative new ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer.
Let’s jump right in!
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a new type of cancer treatment that helps your body’s own immune system fight cancer cells.
Your immune system is your body’s natural defense against disease. It is made up of white blood cells and other cells that work together to find and destroy harmful bacteria and viruses.
Cancer cells are also harmful invaders, and they can be difficult for the immune system to find and destroy. This is because cancer cells often have proteins on their surface that trick the immune system into thinking they are normal cells.
Immunotherapy works by blocking these proteins, allowing the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer cells. Immunotherapy is a promising treatment option that holds the potential to provide long-term remission and even a cure.
Targeted Precision Therapy
Cancer treatment is moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach and towards precision medicine.This means that doctors can now tailor treatments to the specific genetic and molecular makeup of a patient’s cancer. This is possible because of advances in genomics and molecular profiling, which allow doctors to identify the specific genetic mutations that are driving a patient’s cancer.
Targeted therapies are a type of precision medicine that is designed to attack cancer cells with specific genetic mutations. This minimizes harm to healthy cells, which can lead to more effective treatment and fewer side effects. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors and PARP inhibitors are two examples of targeted therapies.
Liquid Biopsies
Traditional cancer diagnosis and monitoring often involve taking a sample of tissue from the tumor, which can be a painful and risky procedure. Liquid biopsies, on the other hand, are a new type of test that can be done with a simple blood draw.
Liquid biopsies look for cancer cells or DNA from cancer cells in the blood. This information can be used to diagnose cancer, see how it is responding to treatment, and check for signs of relapse.
Liquid biopsies are still under development, but they have the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnosis and monitoring. They are less invasive than traditional methods, and they can be done more often. This means that doctors can track a patient’s cancer more closely and make changes to their treatment plan more quickly.
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines are currently being developed to help prevent and treat cancer.
Prophylactic cancer vaccines, like the HPV vaccine, can help prevent certain types of cancer by teaching the body’s immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells before they cause disease.
Therapeutic cancer vaccines are being developed to help treat cancer by stimulating the body’s immune system to attack existing cancer cells. These vaccines work by training the immune system to recognize specific cancer antigens, which are proteins on the surface of cancer cells. Once the immune system can recognize cancer antigens, it can attack and kill the cancer cells.
CAR-T Cell Therapy
CAR-T cell therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer. CAR-NK cell therapy is a similar type of treatment, but it uses natural killer (NK) cells instead of T cells.
NK cells are another type of immune cell that can kill cancer cells. CAR-NK cell therapy can be done in a similar way to CAR-T cell therapy, but it has some potential advantages.
One advantage of CAR-NK cell therapy is that it may have a lower risk of severe side effects. This is because NK cells are less likely to cause cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity, which are two of the most serious side effects of CAR-T cell therapy.
Another advantage of CAR-NK cell therapy is that it may be more effective against a wider range of cancer types. This is because NK cells can recognize and kill cancer cells that do not express the specific proteins that CAR-T cells target.
Cannabis
Emerging research suggests that certain cannabinoids, such as THC and CBD, may have anti-cancer effects.
Cannabinoids are chemicals found in the cannabis plant. THC is the cannabinoid that gets people high, while CBD is non-psychoactive.
Lab studies have shown that cannabinoids can slow the growth of cancer cells and stop them from spreading.
Studies have also shown that cannabis can be effective in relieving cancer-related symptoms. For example, THC can help to reduce pain and inflammation, while CBD can help to reduce nausea and vomiting. Many cancer patients are now using cannabis daily to alleviate not only their cancer symptoms, but the harsh side effects caused by chemotherapy. ( Here, you can learn how to prolong your cannabis high for extended relief.)