New treatments and improved screening continue to reduce cancer mortality

Significant advances in cancer treatments, diagnostic tools, and prevention strategies continue to reduce cancer mortality, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Association for Cancer Research.

cancer mortality is becoming fall The group’s annual cancer progression reports show a steep increase over the past two decades, especially in recent years. As a result, he has gone from 3 million in 1971 to over 18 million cancer survivors in the United States today.

Dr. Stephen Ansell, senior vice president of the Midwest at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota, who was not involved in the report, said: “Cancer mortality continues to decline.”

President Joe Biden is “Cancer Moonshot” initiative This year, and last week he Overview of new steps Deploy the program.

This initiative expands funding for cancer research, especially immunotherapy.

Lisa Coussens, Ph.D., president of the American Association for Cancer Research, said: Investing in basic science brings great returns to the public. ”

harnessing the immune system to fight cancer

Coussens said, immunotherapy As an example of how cancer treatment has improved.

“Our ability to harness or harness the power of the immune system to fight cancer is extraordinary,” said Coussens. “That’s why many cancers, such as lung cancer, kidney cancer, and melanoma, have greatly improved survival.”

Immunotherapy uses your own immune system to fight cancer.

“Cancer cells are mavericks, but they are our cells. Our immune system is designed not to attack our own cells,” says Evelyn H. of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. said Larry Norton, M.D., medical director of Lauder Breast Center. “But new drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors allow the immune system to attack its own cancer cells.”

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first immune checkpoint inhibitor in 2011. metastatic melanomaSince then, eight immune checkpoint inhibitors have been approved for 18 types of cancer, according to the report.

In March, the FDA approved the first new immune checkpoint inhibitor in eight years. This drug, called relatrimab, is used for melanoma.

Additionally, the FDA has approved seven other cancer drugs in the past year. This includes the first drug to treat uveal melanoma, the most common form of eye cancer in adults. He also expanded the use of his existing 10 drugs to other cancers.

Coussens also emphasized the development of cancer drugs that work by targeting specific DNA mutations in cancer cells, but noted that more research is needed.

“The development of targeted drugs was indeed a game changer, but it was not enough to make a real difference in overall survival,” she said.

Early detection of cancer

Also, the key to reducing cancer mortality is to detect the disease as early as possible.

“Early diagnosis is absolutely essential,” said Coussens. “Patients are most likely to survive a cancer diagnosis if it is found very early in the precancerous stage or before the primary tumor has spread to other parts of the body. ”

Efforts to increase regular screenings for common cancers, such as breast, cervical, colon, and prostate cancer, are paying off. According to the report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Colorectal Cancer Management Program has increased colorectal cancer screening rates by more than 12% over the past four years.

Researchers are optimistic about so-called liquid biopsies. simple blood testin contrast to conventional imaging scans and biopsies.

new research Presented this month at ESMO 2022, the European cancer conference, showed promising data for the technology, called the multi-cancer early detection blood test. Scientists around the world are still honing new diagnostic methods that are likely to play a major role in the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment, Dr. Norton said.

Equal access remains a challenge

Despite advances in new treatments, racial disparities, managing preventable risk factors, and getting people to schedule regular cancer screenings remain major hurdles in cancer care.

black american They still have the highest mortality rates and lowest survival rates for most cancers in racial or ethnic groups. It has been largely left out of the improvement.

“Not all of these advances are spread evenly across the US population,” Norton said.

New treatments for cancer are often only available in specialized centers. Difficult to access for those who do not live nearby I have no means of transportation for care. They also often require lengthy hospital stays, taking people away from work and requiring extra lodging costs, Ansell said.

Minimally invasive surgical techniques that do not require hospitalization and new treatments that can be administered at home rather than in the clinic are being developed. Both can break through access barriers.

“It’s exciting to see the progress, but we have a lot of work to do,” says Ansell. “We’re not done until we beat cancer for everyone.”

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