Understanding Cancer Research
With 2023 well underway, cancer researchers around the globe remain focused on one goal: making cure attainable for their patients. Although researchers continue to make strides against cancer with therapies like chemotherapy or radiation treatments that cause side effects like hair loss and weight loss due to chemotherapy treatments or vomiting due to red blood cell loss that causes exhaustion for many patients, many remain hopeful.
New technologies are revolutionizing how scientists detect, visualize, and understand cancer. Some recent advances include:
Researchers are exploring new technology to see how bodies respond to cancer treatments, with hopes of finding targets which can be targeted by therapies to improve patient outcomes and decrease pain levels. This technology is currently in testing.
Researchers are developing innovative immunotherapies that empower an individual’s own immune system to locate and destroy cancerous cells, as well as “smart” immunotherapies which target specific molecular mechanisms of cancer to prevent resistance from forming.
Some of the newest approaches target molecular changes that fuel cancer growth and progression, while others work to stop its spread throughout the body. Researchers are employing cutting-edge tools like next-generation DNA sequencing and RNA sequencing to understand which changes drive cancer cell behaviours and develop more personalized therapies targeting these molecular drivers.
Immunotherapy is an ever-evolving field that is revolutionizing cancer treatments, yet, despite this progress, most cancers remain deadly and the number of deaths from this illness continues to increase worldwide. But we now have the tools available to us that allow us to dramatically increase cancer survival rates with five year overall survival rates exceeding 90%!
We are closer than ever before to reaching a world free from cancer, but more must be done to accelerate progress, including addressing obstacles that impede some of our most promising innovations.
To achieve our shared goal of making cancer history, it is imperative that resources and funding for research are distributed equitably. Priority must be given to research groups who have proven results (e.g., an effective therapy developed previously), with annual oversight for such groups a top priority. We must set clear agendas – without regard for scientometrics and peer review – so researchers can create cancer treatments that are both safe and effective – only then will cancer truly become history! We look forward to serving the global cancer research community as we work toward this shared goal together!
