From progressing methods of early detection to evaluating gentler and more effective treatments, researchers are continuously working to expand the options for patients with cancer. Whether cancer has personally touched your life, or you are simply a lover of medical science, it is worthwhile to understand some of the most current and groundbreaking research in the oncological field. Here are four developments to keep an eye on in coming years.
CAR-T Cell Therapy
Immunotherapy has gained increasing popularity as a form of treatment for cancer. Immunotherapy can be used to boost a cancer patient’s immune system and encourage it to fight cancer through natural defenses. Among the emerging forms of immunotherapy is CAR-T cell therapy. This therapy requires researchers to collect a specialized type of immune system cells, known as T cells, from a patient’s blood. The T cells are then re-engineered to develop chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that can help identify and attack cancer.
CAR-T cell therapy has already proved useful in treating certain patients with some types of blood cancer, including adults with diffuse large B cell lymphoma and children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Clinical trials are looking toward researching the effects of CAR-T therapy on a wider range of leukemia and lymphoma cancers.
Checkpoint Inhibitors
Another form of oncological immunotherapy currently being studied is checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The immune system is comprised of various protein-based checkpoints that regulate immune cells to keep them from wrongfully attacking healthy cells in the body. However, these same checkpoints can prevent the immune system from working to destroy cancer cells. The goal of checkpoint inhibitor drugs is to block the proteins that most commonly prevent action from immune system T cells. Depending on the type of cancer, there are available drugs that target the proteins PD-1, PD-L1, or CTLA-4. In the absence of these inhibitor proteins, T cells are more likely to begin fighting cancerous cells.
Checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated success in treating several kinds of cancer, including melanoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and non-small-cell lung cancer. Several checkpoint inhibitor drugs have already been approved for use, and many more remain in clinical trials.
Advanced Immunogenomic Analysis
Scientists are also studying the benefits of immunogenomic analysis. OncoCell MDx Inc. is among the companies pioneering innovation in cancer evaluation and testing systems. As chairman of OncoCell MDx Inc., Dr. Harry Stylli is helping to lead researchers in the development of an immunogenomic assay that can be used to identify and assess transcription levels between non-phagocytic and phagocytic cells. This will serve as a tool for doctors to better understand the pathology and progression of the disease by allowing them to examine tumors and rate them at various grades of aggressiveness.
The project is currently focusing on cases of prostate cancer. However, researchers hope that it will eventually become applicable to other forms of cancer and possibly even other diseases.
Liquid Biopsy Tests
Liquid biopsy is one of the most promising new tools for simplifying cancer detection. A liquid biopsy is a simple blood test that can be used to tell doctors more specific information about a tumor and detect the presence of disease before the appearance of clinical symptoms. When compared with traditional surgical biopsies, the liquid biopsy is a fast and minimally-invasive procedure. This increased convenience benefits both patients and physicians. Although it has not yet replaced tissue biopsies, liquid biopsy is already being used in conjunction with tissue biopsy, and it is expected to grow into a two billion-dollar industry by 2022.
These are only a few of the exciting new developments in cancer research that are currently being explored. There are thousands of research organizations and clinical trials working to develop novel ways of preventing, detecting, and treating cancer. Each year, researchers and physicians are making enormous strides in their understanding and brightening the outlook for cancer patients across the world.