Jose Vicente Cardona: Here are nine recent developments in the fight against cancer

Jose Vicente Cardona, Group Director Oncology, Global Medical Affairs at Roche, made the following post on LinkedIn:

“What are the latest top breakthroughs in oncology?

Here are nine recent developments in the fight against cancer:

◾ Subcutaneous cancer immunotherapy: versus the conventional intravenous one, subcutaneous administration not only reduces the treatment time and improves convenience for patients with some of the most common types of cancer but also frees up time for healthcare professionals and saves costs in the healthcare system.

◾ Precision medicine: Next-generation sequencing technologies help extend survival and increase cure rates for cancer patients through improving screening and early diagnosis, informing optimal targeted therapies, and monitoring and adjusting treatment plans.

◾ Artificial intelligence: Emerging AI-based technologies are poised to transform cancer care, like machine learning algorithms which have proven to be highly effective at predicting various types of cancer, including breast cancer, brain cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, and prostate cancer.

◾ Lung cancer screening: an AI model developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology allows predicting a person’s likelihood of developing lung cancer up to six years in advance, using a low-dose CT scan.

◾ Comprehensive genomic profiling: in the biggest study of its kind, DNA analysis of thousands of tumors from NHS patients has generated a vast amount of data to allow detecting mutational signatures that help identify causes of cancer.

◾ Liquid biopsy: a non-invasive alternative to surgical biopsies, identifies biomarkers to diagnose the disease subtype, inform the appropriate treatment, and closely monitor patient response, adjusting the course as needed.

◾ CAR-T cell Therapy: two of the first people treated with CAR-T-cell therapy (genetically-engineered T cells that can locate and destroy cancer cells more effectively) were still in remission 12 years on.

◾ Cancer screening using extracellular vesicles: a screening method using biomarkers present in circulating extracellular vesicles quickly and accurately detected early-stage pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, or bladder cancer, therefore increasing the chances for a curative treatment.

◾ Breast cancer medicine repurposing: NHS Medicines Repurposing Program identifies new uses for existing medicines. An aromatase inhibitor, used for years for breast cancer treatment, has been the first treatment repurposed as a preventive medicine for women seen at high risk for breast cancer.”

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Source: Jose Vicente Cardona/LinkedIn