If we ask the question “Which is the disease you fear the most?” to 10 people, I’m sure 7-8 out of those will answer ‘cancer’. Such is the fear of the disease that despite numerous advancements and treatments, people still start worrying a little more when their close ones are diagnosed with cancer. Although this has been a reality for ages, we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel over the past few years. Technology has disrupted the healthcare industry as well, which is proven by the increasing Innovations in Cancer Medication Technology. In this blog, we are going to cover the most recent of these innovations.
Here are the 7 Recent Innovations in Cancer Medication Technology;
1. Telehealth
Bringing cancer care, therapy, and clinical trials to the patient
Innovations in Cancer Medication Technology, it is providing cancer treatment, and executing clinical studies are vital, even during a pandemic. Many healthcare institutions participating in the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) successfully implemented or extended telehealth techniques to deliver patients’ cancer treatment and care remotely.
By using telehealth for remote health monitoring, video visits, and even in-home chemotherapy, these hospitals, and clinics around the nation are optimizing safety and convenience for both patients and clinicians. Telehealth also makes access to clinical trials and cancer treatment simpler for more varied groups of patients over greater geographical locations.
You could have participated in the roughly one-third of health visits made virtually last year via the use of telehealth techniques, even if you weren’t receiving treatment for cancer. Despite its rising popularity, not all care can be provided remotely. Researchers are striving to overcome the issues of ensuring that remote healthcare technology is utilized fairly in Cancer Medication Technology.
2. CRYO-EM
You may think the latest iPhone has an incredible camera, but maybe you haven’t heard of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) (cryo-EM). Cryo-EM captures pictures of molecules that are ten-thousandths the width of a human hair, at resolutions so high they were unheard of only a decade ago.
Similar to how people sift through a large number of candid pictures before sharing the “good” ones online, scientists assess the quality of hundreds of thousands of cryo-EM images, reconstructing 3-D representations of molecules so that they may investigate their behavior.
For Cancer Medication Technology, this involves a better understanding of how cancer cells survive, develop, and interact with medicines and other cells. This is a good Innovation in the list of Innovations in Cancer Medication Technology.
Recent work at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research used cryo-EM to reveal the interaction of a drug for chronic myeloid leukemia with ribosomes (a molecular machine inside cells), providing the most in-depth view of a human ribosome to date and potentially guiding the development of new cancer and disease treatments.
3. Surgical Robots
A faster recovery and quicker return to regular life—that’s what robotic surgery may make feasible in cancer medication technology. Robotic arms that enter the body via tiny incisions have made it possible to undertake procedures that formerly needed a major incision (from the navel to pubic bone), such as the removal of the prostate gland (a prostatectomy) for someone with prostate cancer.
A surgeon controls the arms using a dedicated console that also provides a real-time, magnified image of the surgical site. Patients undergoing robotic prostatectomy, for example, have less postoperative discomfort and blood loss than those undergoing traditional open prostatectomy.
The robotic arms may appear like something out of a science fiction movie, but their delicate, precise movements may make a world of difference in a scenario where just millimeters separate eliminating all malignant cells from possibly damaging good tissue.
4. A CRISPR-based genome-editing system
With innovations in Cancer Medication Technology, researchers never envisaged being able to swiftly and readily modify the genetic code of live cells. But now that’s achievable with CRISPR, which acts like a pair of scissors that can precisely remove, insert, or alter particular sections of DNA within cells. Curiosity for bacteria’s antiviral mechanisms inspired side research that led to the development of this game-changing gene-editing technique.
In 2020, Drs. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their seminal discoveries relating to CRISPR. A year ago, the first US clinical study of CRISPR-made cancer immunotherapy started, and other research is investigating CRISPR-made cancer therapies.
Furthermore, clinical studies are underway to investigate the safety and efficacy of CRISPR when used intravenously. While technology is a game-changer, CRISPR still has its limits, and discussion persists surrounding the ethics of gene editing. There is little doubt, however, that CRISPR is a potent technology that has the potential to significantly advance cancer research and other fields.
5. Affirm Assay
Genotyping is a method of reading and comparing genes from different individuals; what can this teach us about cancer? Used by firms like 23andMe and Ancestry, the Infinium Assay, created by Illumina, is a technique and collection of tools that evaluate millions of single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, the most frequent kind of genetic variation.
Cancer-causing genes may be more easily identified with the use of SNPs, which can also provide light on the disease’s prognosis, development, and progression. Despite initial doubts about the technology’s viability, the test was developed with funding from the National Cancer Institute’s Small Business Innovation Research program and serves as a compelling example of government innovations in Cancer Medication Technology.
The test has found widespread usage, from ancestry reports and cancer research to the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program and even plant genome analysis to determine what factors contribute to the plant’s resilience to insect pests and drought.
6. Microbiome
In the past decade, researchers have revealed that the human microbiome — the collection of bacteria that dwell in our bodies — plays an essential role in many aspects of our health. Including cancer “Elements of the microbiome have a role in regulating an overactive immune system in inflammatory disorders, and in bolstering a repressed immune system in tumors,” said Christophe Bonny, chief scientific officer of Enterome, a French business developing treatments based on microbiome Innovations in Cancer Medication Technology.
7. Artificial Intelligence
Computer programming is used to enhance cancer detection, medication development, and precision medicine in cancer medication technology.
What if doctors were able to “explore” therapies and forecast probable results using a virtual model of you, a “digital twin,” generated by a computer simulation, before providing you with individualized care options? Innovations in AI have made this once-fantastic idea a reality (AI). Computers may be taught to behave, think, and learn via the process of artificial intelligence.
Particularly useful in scientific study, it can quickly and easily identify patterns in massive data sets. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the U.S. Department of Energy’s Frederick National Laboratory for Innovations in Cancer Medication Technology Research, and other fields are employing artificial intelligence to make progress on creating digital twins of cancer patients.
Others use it to evaluate imaging data and electronic health records to personalize patients’ radiation dosages. In fact, AI is already being used to rapidly assess cancer data collected from populations and provide rough estimates of the prevalence of various malignancies. And these examples simply scrape the surface—AI can radically alter cancer treatment.
BOTTOM LINE
Every problem has a solution and it is proving to be true with cancer as well. Innovations in cancer medication technology are bringing forth hope for those who had given up on recovering from cancer. We hope you enjoyed reading this blog ‘Innovations in cancer medication technology’. Stay tuned for more informative content from thelifesciencesmagazine.com.
Also Read: 10 Holistic Approaches to Cancer Care
