According to a report by the World Health Organization, about 8 million people die every year from cancer in the world. The main cancer treatment methods today are chemotherapy and radiation exposure. Unfortunately, they cause significant side effects, because they attack not only cancer cells, but also healthy ones.
More than any other disease, cancer requires new effective methods of diagnosis and treatment. Work on such methods is carried out in the best world laboratories. Developed countries generously provide money for this, because medical officials are afraid of cancer, like everyone else. Below is an overview of promising studies of the first half of 2016 on the fight against various types of cancer.
Blood test for early diagnosis of cancer
Oncological diseases create a significant burden on the human immune system, forcing it to work beyond capabilities. As you know, part of the immune system is white blood cells - white blood cells. Scientists have suggested that the white blood cells of people with cancer, but not yet having obvious symptoms, under the influence of ultraviolet radiation will be destroyed faster and stronger than the white blood cells of healthy people.
For the study, blood samples were taken from patients with cancer, as well as from healthy volunteers, and the authors of the new diagnostic method did not know to whom the samples belong. The leukocytes of cancer patients were less tenacious than the white blood cells of healthy people. A blood test, which is simpler and cheaper than the diagnostic methods that are now widely used, made it possible to correctly identify 94 healthy people, 58 cancer patients, and another 56 patients who had a precancerous stage of the disease.
The study described above involved patients with melanoma, as well as cancer of the lungs and intestines. The next stage, which is currently planned, is to test a new diagnostic method for other types of cancer involving more patients. In another study, the results of which were recently published, they found that the level of certain amino acids - valine, leucine and isoleucine - rises in the blood of patients with pancreatic cancer another 1-10 years before the disease manifests any symptoms.
Slowing the spread of cancer in the body
Suppose diagnostic methods improve, allowing cancer to be detected at an earlier stage. But what's next? Cancer is fatal when it spreads from the original organ throughout the body. This is called metastasis. Scientists are trying to slow down their development and thus extend the life of patients. At Stanford University recently synthesized a new protein, which may be able to solve this problem.
Among other molecules, Axl protein is located on the surface of cancer cells. In order for the tumor to give metastases, this protein must bind to a protein called Gas6 that circulates in the blood. If these proteins manage to connect, part of the cancer cells is separated from a large colony, enters the bloodstream and travels to other organs to develop metastases.
Scientists have synthesized a bait protein that binds 100 times more efficiently to Gas6, leaving Axl out of work. The effectiveness of the new treatment method was investigated in laboratory mice with cancer. The rate of metastatic nodule formation in breast cancer decreased by 78%, and in ovarian cancer - by 90%. Unfortunately in nothing was said about the planning of human studies, as well as the testing of a new method on other varieties of cancer.
Destruction of cancer cells without side effects
For the successful treatment of cancer, it is necessary not only to block the spread of metastases, but also to completely destroy the colony of cancer cells. The main treatment methods that are used today are x-ray irradiation and chemotherapy. They resemble carpet bombing in that they cause massive casualties among the civilian population, and not just among the villains. Patients are desperate for new, effective cancer treatments that do not harm healthy tissue.
Scientists are trying to put on-stream cancer treatment using nanoparticles. These are molecules having a diameter of only a few millionths of a meter. The ability to work with such small objects appeared only recently, in this century. Nanotechnology promises over time to solve many of the global problems of mankind, and not just overcome cancer. To treat cancer, they try to use iron oxide-based nanoparticles, as well as those containing gold.
Nanoparticles with magnets can be brought to a cancerous tumor in the patient’s body. After that, they are heated with a laser beam, causing them to explode and destroy cancer cells. Also, nanoparticles can be combined with drugs that are used for chemotherapy before being introduced into the body. In this case, the nanoparticles will serve as an accurate means of drug delivery to its place of action. Different methods of treating cancer with nanoparticles are already being tested in laboratory mice. Studies have shown that killing cancer cells requires only 3-6% of the standard dose of chemotherapy and x-ray radiation. At the same time, minimal damage is done to the healthy tissues surrounding the cancerous tumor.
A breakthrough in the treatment of cancer is being prepared, but so far it is not
There is a high probability that some of the methods described above will lead to a breakthrough in the treatment of cancer in the coming years. Unfortunately, the history of the fight against cancer contains many examples of disappointing failures. Various methods, which at first seemed promising, failed in human studies. Therefore, scientists who conduct research at the forefront of science are very cautious in their predictions.
We recommend that you study the materials on cancer prevention on the website . Learn how to detoxify your body - remove heavy metals, components of agricultural fertilizers and household chemicals, as well as other poisons that people get from food, water and air. The site describes in detail how to assess your cancer risk and reduce it. Learn about specific methods for preventing bowel, skin, prostate, and female cancer.