Biggest breakthroughs in cancer detection and treatment

The more you learn about cancer, the more you delve into the depths of cancer research, the more you’ll learn about the continuously evolving world of cancer breakthroughs. Now, first thing first, new developments happen frequently in cancer, but not all patients can benefit from them. That is why most developments fly under the radar.

However, there is a flip side to it. Companies tend to advertise their discoveries as “breakthrough,” or “miracle,” or even as a cure. But, 50% of the time, the products are unapproved, and 14% of the time, they have only been successful in mice. Here we will only talk about the breakthroughs in cancer detection and treatment that work according to the top cancer specialists of the world, like Dr. Manish Singhal.

Latest breakthroughs in cancer detection

• The Auris Monarch Robotic Platform

Auris is an FDA approved tool created combining robotics, data science, software, and endoscope innovation. According to cancer specialists, it helps diagnose lung cancer at an earlier stage with accuracy, and with a lower risk of complications.

• Liquid Biopsy Test

Liquid biopsy tests are not exactly brand new. But, the current development through a one-of-its-kind study of a similar multi-cancer blood test in above 9,900 women with no evidence or history of cancer showed that the liquid biopsy test safely detected 26 undiagnosed cancers, enabling potentially curative treatment.

• Next-Generation Sequencing

Cancer research and its genetic correlation have brought about a new wave of change through next-generation DNA sequencing. It detects circulating tumor DNA to identify potential therapeutic targets. It is a minimally invasive procedure and aids patients in targeted therapies. Some of the top cancer specialists, like Dr. Manish Singhal, use such advanced technologies to give better therapeutic options to their patients.

In early may FDA approved an electrical impedance spectroscopy system, Nevisense 3.0, the third-generation of the SciBase Nevisense system, for the early detection of melanoma. Innovations in oncology imaging are also being approved regularly to enhance targeted therapy and reduce the ill effects of broad-spectrum cancer treatment.

Latest breakthroughs in cancer treatment

Any cancer specialist will tell you that cancer treatment is evolving as much as cancer detection, if not more. But, to get the benefits of the new improvements and breakthroughs in cancer treatment, you can only trust someone respectable and informed like Dr. Manish Singhal, the best cancer treatment doctor in Delhi NCR.

Let’s learn about a few of the breakthroughs in cancer research.

• Immunotherapy

We all have heard a lot about immunotherapy, but have you heard about CAR-T therapy or checkpoint inhibitors that are being regularly developed in research facilities worldwide? CAR-T therapy itself is very new; but, it is also evolving. In 2019, a cell-based immunotherapy drug that targets cancer cells bearing a surface molecule called CD22 was approved and granted breakthrough designation by the FDA.

In late 2019, Janssen announced that it’s BCMA CAR-T Therapy JNJ-4528 had been granted the designation of a breakthrough therapy for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma by the FDA.

In August of last year, FDA approved Kymriah and called it a historic action that ushers in a “new frontier in medical innovation.” Kymriah is an immunotherapeutic drug used on certain pediatric and young adult patients with a form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). There are many more treatments in different phases of a clinical trial, and cancer specialists say that there is hope for improvement through immunotherapy every single day.

• Radiotherapy

New cancer research has shown that stereotactic radiation can prolong survival in patients with a limited number of metastases. Cisplatin, along with radiotherapy, has shown better results in HPV-positive head & neck cancer. There are many more combinations and new developments in the pipeline and many are being approved as we speak.

• Chemotherapy

One thing cancer specialists are very excited about is minimally invasive or non-invasive chemotherapy. Let’s talk about some of the breakthroughs in chemotherapy in the past year or so depicting the advances in cancer treatment. First, there is calquence (acalabrutinib) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and adult patients with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Then there is Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki) for some adults with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. There is also Braftovi (encorafenib) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) with a BRAF V600E mutation, detected by an FDA-approved test, after prior therapy; it is used in combination with cetuximab.

• Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapy is earning accolades worldwide among cancer specialists and researchers because of their narrow, minimally invasive approach. Recently Takeda has announced FDA breakthrough therapy designation for Mobocertinib (TAK-788) for the Treatment of NSCLC Patients (special cases). We have previously talked about Enhertu, which is also a major player in targeted therapy. Targeted therapy is a ray of hope for a better treatment for cancer patients worldwide.

Some interesting experimental treatments

• Hyperthermia therapy uses localized or whole-body administration of heat. Intense heat denatures and coagulates cellular proteins, in turn killing the cancer cells.
• Non-invasive techniques like injecting metallic nanoparticles, high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment are coming to the spotlight today.
• We have talked about immunotherapy, but what about immunotherapeutic vaccines? For example, monoclonal antibodies are being used in cancer research to develop vaccines.

The epilogue

Researchers and cancer specialists are trying to crack the code of cancer as a whole. Today, most cancers are treatable if not curable. The word “cancer,” however, still incites fear, although it shouldn’t. It is like any other chronic disease. However, the prognosis is quite bright because of all the developmental cancer research going on in the world. We have tried to highlight as much data about the latest cancer treatment breakthroughs and probable experimental treatments as we can. For more information and insights into the disease, its diagnosis, and treatment you can & should consult an expert, like Dr. Manish Singhal, a top cancer specialist in Noida and Delhi.