Q. What are some advancements being done for cancer?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
Cancer is one of the most significant health challenges that society faces today. It's estimated that more than 1 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States. This has led to immense research and development into new ways to treat this deadly disease, and there have been some incredible advancements being made in recent years to help fight it.
One of the major advancements currently being developed involves immunotherapy treatments, which harness our own immune systems to fight cancer cells. A form of immunotherapy known as "checkpoint inhibitor" works by blocking molecules on T-cells (a type of white blood cell) that keep it from attacking tumor cells. By releasing these molecules, check point inhibitor allows the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively than ever before. Recently, a number of clinical trials have demonstrated promising results when check point inhibitors are used alongside traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy for certain types of cancers including melanoma and lung cancer.
Another significant advancement comes from targeted gene therapies – a type of treatment where specific genes within tumor cells are altered or replaced with genetically engineered versions so they can no longer grow or replicate themselves through cell division – thus stopping cancerous tumors from growing or spreading further in the body. In 2017 breakthroughs were made where scientists discovered how silenced genes involved in driving metastasis could be reactivated through drugs such as dasatinib; sparking hope for those suffering advanced cancers whereby other treatments had previously failed them due to the aggressive nature and spread of their tumours beyond control points within their bodies’ tissue barriers..
At present, researchers continue developing both new medicinal drugs targeting malignant tumors directly while simultaneously gaining further understanding about how our body’s own defense mechanisms can be used better against potential threats such as improving early detection accuracy among others things; all this showing great promise for helping reduce deaths caused by Cancer throughout society at large!