Thiruvananthapuram: India will face a tsunami of chronic diseases like cancer due to globalization, growing economy, aging population and changing lifestyle, warns leading oncologist, making it imperative that the country adopts technologies promoted medical techniques to prevent health catastrophes in an effective and affordable way.
cancer vaccines for prevention and treatment, expansion of Artificial intelligence and data digital technologyand the diagnosis of cancer from liquid biopsies are among the six trends that will reshape cancer care this century, said Jame Abraham, chair of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA.
The other three trends are the use of genomic profiling, the evolution of gene editing technologies and the next generation of immunotherapies and CAR T cell therapies, Abraham said, in an article in the annual publication of a leading vernacular media outlet. in the state.
“Digital technology, information technology and telehealth will reduce the gap between patients and specialists. This will also potentially improve the availability of expert care in remote parts of our country, including rural settings where the majority of our population lives.” says the renowned oncologist.
India’s biggest challenge will be how to make it affordable and accessible to millions of its people as these technologies continue to revolutionize cancer care, Abraham said.
According to Globocan estimates, the global cancer burden is expected to be 28.4 million cases in 2040, an increase of 47% over 2020, due to demographic changes.
This can escalate with increasing risk factors associated with globalization and a growing economy.
It is estimated that in 2020 there were 19.3 million new cases of cancer and almost 10.0 million cancer deaths worldwide. Female breast cancer overtook lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer, while lung cancer remained the leading cause of cancer deaths, with an estimated 1.8 million deaths. (18 percent), followed by colorectal cancer (9.4 percent), liver (8.3 percent), stomach (7.7 percent) and female breast cancer (6.9 percent), reveals The report.
Abraham argues that cancer vaccines are an exciting area of research that have the potential to immunize people against various types of cancer. Researchers have developed incredibly successful COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The fact is that mRNA-based cancer vaccines have been tested in small trials for more than a decade, with some promising preliminary results.
“At the Cleveland Clinic, our team is currently conducting a clinical trial testing the cancer vaccine in high-risk breast cancer,” he said.
Highlighting the role of cutting-edge technologies, he says that computers using Artificial Intelligence (AI) can recognize variations in patterns from normal to abnormal in the biopsy, with much more precision than the human eye. These technologies will require radiologists and pathologists to be more efficient and accurate.
Genetic profiling or testing at an early age to detect the abnormal gene can find breast and colon cancers at their earliest stages.
Pointing out that scans, mammograms, colonoscopies or a Pap smear are now used to diagnose cancer, Abraham says that by the time the tumor is detected, it may be too late.
“Therefore, treatment must be very aggressive. Emerging liquid biopsy technologies will help detect cancer from a drop of blood before it can be detected by a scan or manifest as a lump or ulceration.”
Abraham also has a word of caution. “When we develop new technologies to prevent and treat cancer, we can’t focus on cancer prevention. The most common causes of cancer continue to be tobacco, alcohol, diet, and infections. Tobacco control policies and alcohol should be a national priority,” said the oncologist.
