The #worldcancerday is a clarion call for patients to believe that they can fight this disease. To do our little bit and contribute to newer treatments for cancer the bio- pharmaceutical companies worldwide are making scientific and medical advancements made may only foreshadow a much more intensive fight against cancer that is likely to be characterized by small steps towards a cure and efforts to improve quality of life.
A recent UK study found that for eight common cancers – bladder, bowel, breast, cervical, womb, malignant melanoma, ovarian and testicular cancers – survival is three times higher when diagnosed early. Research shows immunotherapy is improving outcomes and survival rates for some patients, including kidney and lung cancer. Rather than killing cancer cells directly with traditional approaches like radiation or chemotherapy, immunotherapy harnesses the immune system’s power to eliminate the cancer or slow its growth and ability to spread. By genetically altering and boosting special immune cells of patients suffering from certain forms of cancer, those cells–often referred to as a “living drug”–may serve to eliminate the disease.
Thus far, those undergoing these ground-breaking treatments have seen powerful results. Cancer is an area where personalized medicines are having a particularly big impact, driving tremendous advances for patients with highly aggressive cancers, like non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In fact, research has shown nearly two-thirds of NSLCs have a genetic mutation that can be more effectively targeted with a personalized medicine.

Gene and cell therapies are part of a new class of medicines in immuno-oncology, which rely on the body’s own immune system to fight disease. Bio-pharmaceutical researchers are urgently working to gain new insights into the complex interactions between patients’ immune systems and the cancer cells growing in their bodies with the goal of markedly improving patient outcomes in more tumor types. According to online research- currently still largely in trial phase, these innovative treatments are being utilized to treat a whole host of diseases, ranging from leukemia to myeloma to brain tumors.

The PhRMA website states that with 836 medicines and vaccines in development for cancer, 80 percent of which have the potential to be first-in-class treatments, millions of patients living with cancer have hope. However, this future of medicine needs thoughtful public policies that support research and innovation. Governments who recognise the strong linkage between research and technology are more likely to be economically prosperous in the future.

This #worldcancerday, our scientists are saying #IamAndIWill as they continue to dedicate themselves to research and science to bring newer medicines to patients.

*Source – PhRMA website

-Kanchana TK is director General, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI). The views expressed here are personal.

Source: indiatimes.com