Oncological diseases are no longer a sentence. What you Need to Know about Cancer Treatment

In recent decades, medicine has made a breakthrough in the treatment of certain types of cancer, and new ways of influencing cancer cells have emerged that reduce the risk of adverse reactions in the patient's body. Science has also made significant progress in the field of cancer prevention. What are the methods of cancer treatment, which types of cancer are better treatable and whether its development can be prevented — in the Izvestia material.

It's not a verdict anymore

• Almost all oncological diseases are curable if they are detected at an early stage. Cancer of the lymphatic system, germinogenic tumors in children, colon cancer, basal cell carcinoma, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, colon cancer, thyroid, prostate and breast cancer are better than others. Surgical treatment may be sufficient for breast cancer detected at the first stage.

• Small cell lung cancer and some forms of liver cancer, as well as pancreatic cancer and sarcomas in adults, are the worst treatable. One person can develop several types of cancer at once, but even in this situation, the disease can be brought under control. Doctors draw up treatment regimens that affect different tumors, and select the optimal course for each patient, taking into account the characteristics of his health.

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Evolution of treatment methods

• The first method of cancer treatment was "protoimmunotherapy", proposed by an ancient Egyptian doctor in the XVI century BC: she suggested a poultice and an incision of the tumor in the expectation that the resulting inflammation would destroy the tumor itself. The method proved to be dangerous, and cures were extremely rare. But doctors have found a way to force the patient's immune system to attack the tumor. Immunotherapy is considered one of the most promising treatment methods — it is prescribed when other methods do not help. This method is used in the treatment of melanoma, kidney cancer, certain subtypes of lung cancer and other tumors resistant to chemotherapy.

• Doctors have completely abandoned the old chemotherapy regimens and surgical treatments that were ineffective or led to complications. Currently, a combination of these methods is used to treat cancer at risk of developing metastases. Radiation therapy, which appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, became more targeted and gentle for the patient's body, and the main breakthrough in this direction was radiosurgery, which makes it possible to destroy cancer cells in cases where surgical intervention is associated with a high risk. So far, only one clinic in Russia has equipment for radiosurgery.

In recent decades, methods have been developed that affect the tumor itself, reducing the risk of side effects of treatment. The so-called targeted therapy allows special drugs to target mutations inside the tumor. But this method is not always applicable, and before prescribing, doctors conduct a molecular genetic examination of the tumor.

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• Genetically engineered CAR-T therapy is used in the treatment of lymphoma, lymphoblastic leukemia and myeloma. T-lymphocytes, which are responsible for the formation of cellular immunity, are extracted from the patient's blood, modified and injected back so that they attack cancer cells. Theranostics combines diagnosis and treatment: a drug with radionuclide finds tumor cells in the body, and after replacing the isotope with a therapeutic one, it affects cancer cells from the inside, destroying them. This method is used for neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer.

There is no universal way to cure cancer. In the early stages of the disease, surgery or radiation therapy may be sufficient. In more serious cases, doctors combine treatment methods, but the approach is always individual. New treatments are often rare and expensive, and can cause dangerous side effects, so doctors use a thoughtful, integrated approach.

The cancer vaccine

• Cancer vaccines are not intended for prevention, but for the treatment of an existing disease. In September, trials of the first oncolytic vaccine Enteromix, developed by the National Medical Research Center (NMRC) of Radiology of the Russian Ministry of Health and the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, will begin. The drug is based on a combination of non—pathogenic viruses that can attack malignant cells. The vaccine is expected to enter the market in about two years.

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• At the end of 2025, the NMITS of Radiology intends to begin testing personalized mRNA vaccines against cancer - they will be created individually based on the analysis of each patient's tumor. Therapeutic vaccines help to overcome the disease by forming an immune response to a specific antigen. Previously, such vaccines were developed primarily for the treatment of chronic forms of infectious diseases, for example, brucellosis vaccine or staphylococcal toxoid.

Myths about cancer

• There is an opinion that cancer is difficult to treat, because previously medicine did not have effective ways to diagnose and treat cancer, and people went to the doctor already in the late stages. In fact, cancer at an early stage can now be completely cured. And thanks to new techniques, the disease can be defeated at later stages.

• Cancer in its early stages is not accompanied by pain. Most often, the disease does not give recognizable signs by which a person could identify an oncological disease in time and consult a doctor. For example, coughing, shortness of breath, and fatigue in lung cancer can easily be confused with symptoms of other diseases. Regular screening for various types of cancer and annual general medical examination help to detect the signs of the disease.

• Folk recipes and diets will not help with cancer. Alternative treatment methods only take up the patient's time, which is needed in order to undergo real therapy and bring the disease under control.

Prevention of oncological diseases

• No one is immune from cancer. A healthy lifestyle, weight control, UV protection, and stress avoidance help reduce the risk. Experts recommend regular routine checkups and screenings, and do not miss the opportunity to be examined as part of a medical examination. But the analysis of cancer markers is not considered an effective method of identifying the risks of the disease.

• Vaccination is the prevention of the development of certain forms of cancer. The hepatitis B vaccine prevents the development of liver cancer, and the human papillomavirus vaccine is the only effective way to prevent cervical cancer. High-risk HPV strains 16 and 18 provoke the development of this disease in 70% of cases, and also cause other cancers.

During the preparation of the Izvestia material, we talked and took into account the opinions of:

• Candidate of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Medicine, Oncologist at the European Medical Center Yulia Vakhabova;
• Oncologist, surgeon, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Head of Surgical Department No. 1 at the Burnazyan Medical Center Ilya Kolyshev.