Breakthrough in cancer research provides hope for patients

Within the next couple of months researchers at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland Ohio will be at the verge of beginning clinical trials on human beings for a research that may lead to a major breakthrough in cancer treatment.

This research, already discussed by oncologists in some leading medical science journals, involves using a virus to attack cancer cells wherever they are in the body. If successful the clinical trials may lead to the discovery of a drug that will be as simple to administer as taking a panadol. The costs of cancer treatment may also come down drastically.

The Cleveland Clinic Cancer Centre’s mission throughout screening, diagnosis, and treatment is “patients first.” This means listening to their concerns, treating them with empathy, and personalised care according to a special publication of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) contained in the October edition of US Airways Magazine.

A holistic approach to the treatment of cancer, currently also practiced at the Faraja institution of the Cancer Centre in Parklands, Nairobi, involves taking into account the needs of the patient as well as the care givers at home and at work. It must also be noted that the physical well-being of the patient, which includes good nutrition, emotional stability and physical fitness all play an important role in cancer treatment and care.

Cancer cells are notoriously difficult to see, even under high-powered magnification. To a surgeon’s naked eye, they often are indistinguishable from healthy cells nearby, so says the AACI report referred to here. The good news is that high-tech goggles have been developed by Dr Samuel Achilefu of Washington University Siteman Cancer Centre in St Louis.

These goggles help surgeons identify malignant cells, making them glow blue when viewed through the eyewear. The wearable technology, reports the AACI, helps to ensure that no stray tumour cells are left behind.

Optimism. Determination. Faith. These are words to live by if you are battling cancer. The disease knows no bounds, attacks persons of all ages, gender and social class. It is like a thief: it arrives when it is least expected.

But in hundreds of research centres across various cities and states in the USA, dedicated research scientists are busy day and night looking for the cure of various types of cancer currently known in the medical profession. Hope is the driving force behind these endeavours; an unending thirst to make the mind save humankind from this disease informs the tradition in scientific research.

At the University of Florida Health Cancer Centre, the Precision Cancer Care Programme genomically analyses patient tumour to identify abnormal genes that may be driving an individual’s unique form of cancer. As many as 50 per cent of patients may have tumour mutations sensitive to specific drugs that have already been approved for use or are being tested in clinical trials.

The precision care programme identifies which mutations a patient’s tumour has so that doctors can deliver highly targeted treatments resulting in greater cancer-killing effectiveness and fewer, less toxic side effects.

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston is also at the forefront of using “precision cancer medicine” in which “smart” drugs are used to block the growth and spread of cancer with finely focused attacks on specific malfunctioning molecules in cancer cells.

If cancer is like a runaway car, chemotherapy halts the car by destroying it, while injuring bystanders in the process. Molecularly targeted drugs, by contrast, are pinpoint tools that make the repairs needed to safely bring the vehicle to a stop.

This precision treatment of cancer is very important since each person’s tumor has its own profile. Two people suffering from lung cancer of the same grade or stage may not necessarily respond effectively to the same treatment. Cancer cells, argue the AACI report, can have many hundreds of mutations, and the “one shoe fits all” approach of chemotherapy now needs to be improved upon by such scientific developments as reported here.

One of America’s best known cancer centre is the MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas. Dedicated to the mission of “making cancer history”, MD Anderson has specialists and world-renowned scientists engaged in cutting-edge research determined to make major breakthrough in the treatment and cure of all cancers within our lifetime. With the knowledge that more than a third of all cancers can be avoided, the first line of attack is change in lifestyle; the second line of attack is proper nutrition; and the third line of attack is physical fitness and divorcing obesity.

When all that is taken care of, cancer may still knock at one’s door, and the likely cause may lie in one’s genes. As a recognised leader in the fight against cancer, MD Anderson continues to pioneer approaches in cancer treatment. Using the latest genetics-based research, they can develop targeted treatments that are personalised to individual patients.

As the AACI report emphasises, MD Anderson—like no other time in history—is poised to end cancer once and for all. Be a part of history. Learn how you can get involved at MakingCancerHistory.com.

I chair the board of the Africa Cancer Foundation (ACF) here in Nairobi. We are a small organisation and only three years old. Like the MD Anderson we believe cancer can be history. But ours is simply a belief and a commitment which we are determined to share with you every day because we know that you are the first soldier in the human army that will fight cancer successfully and conquer it on the African continent. Hence our vision is “A Cancer Free Africa” as stated in our website www.africacancerfoundation.org.

Some people smitten by cancer have come to us at times and asked us whether we can give them monetary support to look for treatment. Unfortunately we do not have the money; but we can help with information regarding where to seek help, how to deal with the disease and so on. But more importantly we seek to make people aware of their health status so as not to get cancer without being aware of what is happening to them.

When most cancers are discovered early they can be cured; when discovered late they are more or less fatal although researches going on in the US at the moment are heading towards curing cancer at whatever stage they are discovered. But even if that happens the cost of treatment may be prohibitive. And that is why we have been carrying out screening exercises in various towns in our country to check on cancer.

We have been screening for prostate, breast and cervical cancer. Thirty per cent of the males we have screened almost everywhere have had prostate cancer. We referred them to relevant hospitals for treatment and care.

Twenty per cent of the women we screened had cervical cancer. These when discovered at the early stage can be treated cheaply and easily. Breast cancer is equally prevalent among women almost with the same frequency as cervical cancer. But our sample of 6,000 people screened so far may not be representative of the whole Kenyan population. But it is a rough indicator of what the reality may be.

We believe that these three cancers related to our reproductive system should be dealt with by government health institutions with the urgency they deserve. A proactive approach will save many lives. Benign neglect will only drive up the cost of treatment and care when the disease is discovered late without necessarily reducing the mortality rates. The choice is ours to make; we cannot leave the safety of our health to fate.