Immediately upon being elected, U.S. President Joe Biden had a task to solve. Amidst taking a hold on the virus, he, however, did not forget about a health issue he’d previously been involved in. In his first major address to Congress this April, Biden asked lawmakers to help him “end cancer as we know it.” The U.S.’s ambition to stop cancer deaths began with the project Moonshot Biden was responsible for under the presidency of Barack Obama. While Moonshot hasn’t yet proved successful, the amount of money spent on research has its mark on the outcome.
The United States spends more money on cancer than any other country. Globally, 44% of cancer research funders are located in the United States (21% in Europe, 16% in Asia). Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide; every 6th death is caused by a form of the disease. It poses a physical, emotional and financial burden on individuals, families, societies and governments.
Cancer research is still one of the most significant areas of research in healthcare worldwide. The inventions that led to the rapid COVID-19 vaccine developments originally were aimed at curing cancer – the mRNA technology, for example. Today, it became a forward-looking concept for cancer immunotherapy, and researchers expect the field to grow convincingly in the future. The three essential levels in cancer care (prevention, treatment and monitoring of the disease) can help beat cancer for good. The technologies we list below are separated according to these phases.
Prevention and diagnosis
Cancer diagnosis must be early and accurate. Many cancer types cannot yet be detected early enough, while others are caught in time but treated too severely. This notion requires excellent healthcare facilities, new diagnosis technologies, and the proactivity of patients. We’ll see the following fields to earn additional momentum in the coming years.
Fluid biopsy
Fluid biopsy is the analysis of tumours using biomarkers circulating in fluids such as the blood. It can be used for the early detection of cancer. During cancer treatments, re-biopsies are needed to adjust the treatment plan. It means taking a new sample from the ever-changing tumour to define the next step of the therapy. With the current invasive biopsy techniques, this is a considerable challenge for patients and medical professionals alike. Fluid biopsy extracts cancer cells from a simple blood sample. The use of biomarkers in the blood is transforming cancer diagnosis already, and I firmly believe the method should be the primary process for all biopsies where possible.
Real-time cancer diagnostics
There are multiple exciting technologies for the diagnosis of tumours during surgery. A large-scale study in 2019 found that over 20% of women who had breast cancer had to undergo a second operation because malignant cells had been left undetected the first time. A new tool that got the FDA breakthrough device designation in October 2020 aims to solve this issue. OncoRes Medical’s imaging device provides essential intraoperative information available to surgeons during a lumpectomy. The handheld device uses A.I. to assist with identifying tumour and healthy tissue, thereby substantially improving outcomes in breast-conserving surgery and reducing repeat operations for women with breast cancer.
Understanding genetic and lifestyle causes of diseases
By getting some explicit knowledge about what genetic and environmental factors lead to the different types of cancers, including the given patient’s genetic makeup; it would be possible to catch cancer in its infancy. This requires process innovation in healthcare and more precise and specific cancer biomarkers supported by better screening technologies. For example, when I took the Atlas Biomed genetic test, I learnt a lot about my own body and how it works, and by knowing the risk factors, I was able to design a preventive plan with my primary care physicians and my genetic counsellor. On the downside, Atlas doesn’t examine the gene variants for complex cancer risks. However, another company, Dante Labs does so. Their DNA package contains a hereditary cancer report with risks, e.g. for colorectal or prostate cancer, but I must warn you to take these results with caution: risks and actual diseases are two different things.
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