Understanding the Advances of Cancer Research Through the Years

There have been numerous advances in the treatment of cancer in modern history, and the benefits of this have saved the lives of untold numbers of people. The advancement is largely due to a better understanding of the disease and developments in the understanding of the causes of cancer – which then makes it simpler to treat.

Overall, these advances are due to extensive research in the field. These research programmes have been around for the best part of 50 years, and they are funded by government grants and also charitable donations. But what is the progress of this research, what milestones have been met and what challenges still remain?

Here we will explore some significant advances made through in the past 50 years and establish what progress has been made.

There has been a significant advancement in treatment that has helped many of those suffering from breast cancer. The operation that was standard previously was known as a mastectomy, which is essentially the removal of the entire cancerous breast. This is very invasive, and can be psychologically damaging. There are also significant risks with removing such a large amount of tissue.

A relatively new development has ushered in a different procedure, known as a lumpectomy. This procedure is done to remove a tumour from a breast, without removing excess tissue. Having only the tumourous or cancerous tissue removed is far less invasive. It also has allowed patients to have a less traumatic experience in surgery and a less painful recovery.

These developments are chiefly due to studies, which has allowed for clinical trials and innovative new surgical techniques to be developed and is therefore a significant advancement.

Blood cancers such as leukaemia and lymphoma were previously very hard to treat and diagnose. There are many different forms of blood cancer, which affect the blood cells. Blood cancers are particularly common in children, and there was a very high mortality rate in previous generations of patients.

Nowadays, due to clinical trials of new drugs, there has been a significant advance in reducing the mortality rate for blood cancers. The drug Imatinib is particularly beneficial for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia. This is beneficial because previous treatments using interferon only extended the average lifespan of a patient by about 1 year.

Drug trials and research is immensely significant in the treatment of all cancers – and this is where a significant portion of funds for research is allocated.

Cancer is an aggressive disease, as a result it is often considered impossible to treat severe forms of cancer with a single course of treatment. However, there are many ways in which the more severe forms of cancer (in other words those that are not easily or effectively treatable) can be dealt with by using multiple treatments. The innovation of this combination approach is helped by progress in research that has determined this form of treatment is the most effective.

A major form of treatment is surgery. Cancerous tumours need to be excised in order to stop them spreading throughout the body. Developments in the area of micro surgery have allowed for less invasive operations – developments in surgical procedures such as cleanliness, anaesthesia and tools have helped this come about.

Radiation therapy is another significant aspect of a combination approach to cancer treatment, and research has made it a very effective on some kinds of cancers. The treatment works by use of targeted doses of radiation, which kill malignant cells in tumours. The progress of this type of treatment is largely due to developments in imaging technologies; with the advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology it has been possible to target cancerous tumours with radiation more accurately.

Chemotherapy is now a common treatment for cancer, and although it is quite an old treatment there are several experimental approaches that have been facilitated by research progress. Electrochemotherapy is a relatively new approach that combines chemotherapy with electrical pulses on a cancerous tumour. This approach, amongst others, has been made possible by clinical trials brought about by cancer research.

The main advance that research has yielded in the treatment of cancer is the exploration of experimental treatments. Funding for trials and other research into new drugs has become a very important aspect of the overall progress of cancer treatments.

Some experimental treatments that are currently being explored including bacterial treatments that aid chemotherapy by targeting non-oxygenated parts of a tumour that chemotherapy alone cannot reach. There are also many drug therapies that have been proven effective and are now gaining traction. For example insulin potentiation therapy is considered a significant advance as it allows for a very specific targeting of cancer cells.

Gene therapies are another approach that is currently in experimental stages. These work by introducing tumour suppressor genes to patient’s bodies that are useful for stopping the spread of cancer.

There are many ways that research has advanced. From drug research to surgical advances and experimental treatments there are more and more ways in which cancer can be treated thanks to life-saving research.

Many challenges still remain, but it is vital for progress that research continues to be funded and practiced until effective treatments for all forms of cancer exist.