Is our future Cancer free?

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Its high morbidity makes it the deadliest disease. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 10 million people died of cancer in 2020. 

Cancer is a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body. The most common causes of cancer death in the world are lung, colon, prostate, and breast cancer. 

Scientists and Oncologists from across the world have been researching and experimenting to find a cure for the disease. Until now, no guaranteed and 100% cure for the disease has been found. The cure of cancer solely depends on the stage of detection and the line of its treatment with many other factors associated with it.

An international cancer meeting at Kettering Cancer Centre in Chicago was held, which presented the astonishing results of Cancer treatments by doctors from across the world who are giving hope to cancer patients to have better treatments and a cancer-free future.

A team of Indian Doctors from Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel, Mumbai, showcased their "low-cost" innovation with similar drugs to prolong lives and treat severely ill and neck cancer patients. The immunotherapy drug called “nivolumab" was used for the treatment of 15,000 patients with metastatic head and neck cancer, by the Oncology team of the hospital which highly benefited the patients.

The patients got a regular dose of the immunotherapy drug and the cost of regular dosing was one-eighth of the usual cost. Patients with advanced-stage cancer also went for their regular regime of chemotherapy.

Another drug called “dostarlimab “showed a 100% recovery rate in the medical trial conducted on 12 rectal cancer patients who were given this drug for six months. Medical examination such as MRI scans, endoscopy, and positron emission tomography (PET) was done to check the results and no tumour was detected.

The eradication of cancer from the patients came as a hope to the world, as these patients who were given the drug gave up hope to live after going through grueling chemotherapy and radiation sessions and failing in them. Some of them even underwent “life-altering” surgeries too which resulted in the bowel, urinary, and sexual dysfunction.

Another line of treatment is found by AstraZeneca and Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo who got a standing ovation for their research in the Cancer Centre by Doctors for innovating a practice-changing drug called “Enhertu.”

Evidence suggests that, except for breast cancer, Enhertu can also be used to treat many other kinds of cancers. During the research, this drug enabled women with advanced breast cancer to live six months longer than others treated with conventional chemotherapy.

India’s vaccine maker Serum Institute of India has also developed a vaccine against cervical cancer. Cervical cancer in India ranks as the second-most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age.

After the 2/3 phase trial of the vaccine “Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus,” the firm has applied for market authorisation with the support of the Department of Biotechnology to ensure its early availability in the country. 

With so many drugs and vaccines developed by Oncologists, vaccines, and drug makers across the world, it’s not far away when the world will be able to beat the deadly disease of cancer and humans will live cancer-free.