Cancer Research
Medical technology has made tremendous advances in the last few
decades. Yet it has not yet been able to tame cancer. An
effective treatment for the killer disease that also has less of
the unwanted side effects has evaded scientists and doctors over
the years.
What is more, cancer cases and cancer deaths are increasing.
Blame it on lifestyle changes and pollution. But cancer still
poses a challenge to medical science. The disease is expected to
affect 16 million people worldwide every year up to the year
2020. The need of the hour is to identify the cancer-causing
genes and devise effective methods for the prevention of cancer.
Cancer research tries to identify the causes of the disease and
develop prevention, diagnosis, and treatment methods. Cancer
research concentrates on identifying the mutated genes that are
implicated in cancer.
Billions of dollars are being poured into cancer research the
world over. Much of the current cancer research is being funded
by charity organizations, who are doing their part to help in
this fight against cancer.
Cancer research is a complex subject. It includes epidemiology,
molecular bioscience, and clinical trials that assess the
various cancer treatment applications. The treatment methods
employed for cancer are surgery, radiation therapy,
chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and chemo-radiotherapy. From the
previous decade, cancer research has been concentrating on
biotechnology research such as immunotherapy and gene therapy.
Certain hereditary factors can increase the chances of gene
mutations that cause cancer, such as the activation of oncogenes
or the inhibition of tumor suppressor genes. The oncogenes and
tumor suppressor genes' functions can be disrupted during
various stages of tumor progression. The mutations of the genes
can be used for classifying the malignancy of a tumor. Oncogenes
and tumor suppressor genes must be identified during cancer
research to understand tumor progression and the success of the
treatment. This is all the more important as tumors can also
develop resistance to cancer treatment.
Chemotherapy is the most commonly used treatment for cancer.
Though surgery and radiation therapy destroy cancer cells in the
specified area, chemotherapy is a more all-round treatment. It
destroys cancer cells throughout the body. It tracks down and
attacks cells that have spread from the source of the tumor to
the other parts of the body. Chemotherapy drugs can be used in
different combinations for cancer treatment.
Now cancer research is moving to new territories. Scientists are
beginning to identify the genes that make cancerous tumors
function the way they do. Scientists have recently discovered
that breast cancer spreads fast because of the protein HSP27
present in the breast cancer cells. Breast cancers having a
higher level of HSP27 are more resistant to chemotherapy and
other drug treatments.
Cancer research also is now focusing on the human immune system.
It is the immune system that detects irregularities in the human
body and fights them. However, the immune system seems to fail
in recognizing the cancer cells and attacking them. Research is
therefore on to enable the immune system defend the body against
tumors.
With some of the best brains in the world working on cancer
research, and billions of dollars backing that effort, cancer
research is bound to come up with innovative therapies to treat
this killer disease.
About the author:
Lisa Hyde-Barrett, a registered nurse and wellness advocate,
understands the relationship between awareness and prevention
and make breast cancer awareness a top goal! Please visit her
site:
http://www.support-cancer-awareness.com
