Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title Are we on the verge of a CURE for cancer? This week, scientists announced major breakthroughs with vaccine hopes and a new drug - just two of the revolutionary treatments that give hope in our fight against the killer Media name/outlet Mail Online Media type Web Country/Territory United Kingdom Date 9/06/22 Description However, Gareth Evans, Professor of Medical Genetics and Cancer Epidemiology at the University of Manchester, says that targeted immunotherapy is only one of the ‘little victories’ that could pave the way to a multi-faceted cure for cancer.
Another could lie with a blood test to detect cancer early — before someone experiences any symptoms.
This is the aim of the Galleri blood test, which has been developed by Grail, a California-based biotechnology company. It has been designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer, including stomach, uterine and kidney. The test does this by locating fragments of DNA shed into the bloodstream by a tumour. These are then analysed to find the cancer’s location.
In a study last year involving people who had already been diagnosed with cancer, the test accurately detected the disease in 51.5 per cent of participants. It was also able to correctly predict the location of the tumour 89 per cent of the time. The test may become available in the UK as early as 2024, after the NHS launched the world’s largest trial of it in September 2021, involving 140,000 participants.
However, testing of this kind is not without its challenges, since it relies on tumours shedding enough pieces of DNA for the disease to be detected — and some cancers shed more genetic material than others.
‘The Grail test, for example, doesn’t pick up early-stage breast or ovarian cancer,’ explains Professor Evans. ‘It’s a real problem, since about 70 per cent of ovarian cancer is still diagnosed at stage three and above. [Stage three is the second most serious phase of the disease; the five-year survival rate for ovarian cancer is 39 per cent.]
‘But for some cancers this detection test could be dependable, sensitive and specific.’
Early detection means diagnosing cancer at a time when treatment will be at its most successful.
‘Diagnosing cancer at a late stage often means the disease has already spread,’ explains Professor Evans. ‘What’s more, it will have accumulated more genetic faults in that time, so it’s likely the disease will be more resistant to treatment. That’s why it needs to be caught early if we are to have a better chance of a cure.’URL https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10902055/Are-verge-cure-cancer-week-scientists-announced-breakthroughs-vaccine.html Persons Dafydd Evans
Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms
- Cancer
Keywords
- cancer