Artificial Intelligence (AI) It has become in recent years a indispensable tool in the use of general and private medicine, focusing on New drugs, innovative therapiesUnknown methods of Disease prevention and training of professionals in selected health areas.
And the Medical Branch of Oncology It is no stranger to such developments. On the contrary, it is an exclusive protagonist. With each passing year we see how oncology is witnessing remarkable advances driven by cutting-edge technologies and innovative approaches. And we also learn about the growing incidence of this disease that continues to increase.
According to estimates made by the Global Cancer Observatory (Globocan), there are about 19.3 million new cases of cancer per year and Nearly 10 million deaths from this cause worldwide. Argentina has a Medium-high cancer incidence within the countries of the world and future projections do not tend to decrease.
For this a non-communicable disease that has a globally significant prevalence, Every day, thousands of scientists and researchers around the world make revolutionary advances that reshape the oncology landscape and bring hope to both patients and medical professionals.
Chemotherapies, radiotherapies and surgery have characterized the fight against this disease for decades. And in this twenty-first century, cancer research has made significant advances since the emergence of personalized treatments and targeted therapies. But we are currently in a transformative era of cancer research, with remarkable innovations paving the way for revolutionary treatments.
They focus on Five key advances that are at the forefront today:
1) Artificial Intelligence (AI)
2) Genomic Medicine
3) State-of-the-art cancer organoids
4) Nanoparticles
5) Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC).
Infobae He went over these points with Diego Kaen (MP 1898), president of the Argentine Association of Oncology (AAOC) that provided details of each of them and the hope they generate in doctors and especially in patients diagnosed with this disease.
1-Artificial intelligence in oncology
The artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) They are computer systems designed and trained to help medical oncologists and health professionals in different medical areas and also in the treatment of cancer patients, making them faster and more effective.
“Artificial intelligence and machine learning are used in oncology today, and they help speed up the search for new information and sort it,” Kaen said. An example of the use of AI and ML is the use of to view medical images, how mammograms for breast cancer or scans for brain tumors. Evidence has shown that it can be very good at finding and understanding these images, better than experienced doctors in some cases. “It is an extremely novel development and we see it more and more in oncology practice,” added the expert.
“Today there are certain specialties within cancer treatments, such as diagnostic imaging, where artificial intelligence helps to find alterations in CT scans, on mammograms. In these areas, where doubts were sometimes generated, artificial intelligence helps to unify everything and begin to divide benign pathologies and malignant pathologies,” Kaen said.
The results of the ML system are consistent and reliable. But a big challenge these systems face is that they require a lot of data to learn, which may not be available everywhere in the world. In some cancers such as breast and colon, which are more common, there is a large volume of data, which means that it is a good place to studyand improve the use of AI on a global scale, improving patient outcomes.
2-Genomic medicine
Genomic medicine involves studying and analyzing a patient’s genetic information, specifically their DNA, to better understand the genetic basis of diseases such as cancer.
“The human genome project was the kick-off for what is now precision medicine.. It is to understand that tumors have their ID or have their genetic characteristic that is different from one patient to another. Today beyond the study of the human genome, we can also study the tumor genome and from there see what expression it generates, what mechanisms are called driver or behavioral and what is producing carcinogenesis, that is, it is giving signal for a cell to reproduce in an unbridled way. anomalous without brake,” Kaen said.
“This today allows us to study what they are those Drivers or genes that produce carcinogenicity signal conduction, It would be, and to be able to inhibit them to inhibit that carcinogenesis. And this brings a clear clinical benefit,” said the specialist.
The next-generation sequencing (NGS) was discovered about 10 years ago, which makes reading all the genetic information in the whole genome sequencing (WGS) of a person’s DNA much easier and cheaper. This breakthrough made WGS more available for research and to provide help to cancer patients.
The 100,000 Genome Project was created in the UK and used whole genome sequencing (WGS) to look at the DNA of more than 15,000 cancer patients. They compared the patient’s normal genetic information (germ line) with the genetic makeup of their tumor. The project provided extensive information to patients and their families, allowing them to understand the genetic basis of their cancer and how it can be treated.
Then, the National Health Service (NHS) in England he established the NHS Genomic Medicine Service following the project, offering genetic testing for patients with rare diseases and cancer, making it more accessible for future patients to benefit from the latest oncogenic advances.
3-Next Generation Cancer Organoids
Exist Advanced 3D models of cancer cells that faithfully replicate the conformation and behavior of tumors in an organism. And they’re called next-generation cancer organoids.
These models are created from a patient’s cancer cells and are grown in the laboratory And they are important, as they can maintain important features of the original tumor, such as its genetics, proteins, and appearance. as if it were in a person’s body, while allowing scientists to manipulate genes and the environment in ways that weren’t possible before.
“The topic of organoids is developing a lot in clinical research, but it still has no real role in human practice. I think it’s super interesting, that It has a lot of future, but we’re not using it in patients yet,” Kaen said.
Researchers are working to make these models increasingly reliable and useful for patient care by standardizing the techniques used to create them. By standardizing methods, researchers can gain better insights into how different tumors behave and respond to treatments, leading to personalized therapies and improving patient outcomes in the future.
4-Nanoparticles
The term nanoparticles refers to tiny particles designed to deliver drugs or therapeutic agents specifically cancer cells. Its use in the treatment of cancer is part of nanomedicine, a branch responsible for exploring how nanotechnology, including oncology, can improve the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of diseases.
“Nanoparticles are now a reality in medicine and oncology. In fact, nanotechnology Today it is part of the development of drugs and molecules that treat oncological diseases.. There are many examples of drugs, even chemotherapy that are made with nanoparticle technology and this greatly improves the mechanism of therapeutic action. Inclu”If nanotechnology decreases the toxicity of some treatments with the development of these drugs,” says Kaen.
Another benefit is that nanoparticle-based drug delivery has demonstrated its potential to overcome the drug resistance observed in cancer treatment. By targeting the specific mechanisms responsible for drug resistance, nanoparticles can help reverse multi-drug resistance in cancer cells.
5-New chemotherapy delivery system
The pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC, for its acronym in English) is an innovative and hopeful method of chemotherapy to treat specific advanced abdominal cancers.
It is that in PIPAC, chemotherapy drugs are administered directly into the abdominal cavity in the form of an aerosol, directing and concentrating treatment on tumors in this area. This approach holds great promise for improving the effectiveness of cancer treatment in the abdomen.
“Intraperitonial chemotherapy has its clinical utility, although aerosol treatment is not yet approved in practice in the country. But intraperitonial chemotherapy is used in some types of cancers, such as ovarian cancer, in peritonical cancers and peritoneal cancers. And each time that form of administration will evolve and improve, “said Kaen who warned that this treatment is aimed at specific tumors and for some situations of that tumor.
“It’s not such a widespread treatment. Today the treatments try to go more towards the oral or subcutaneous route that are much less aggressive and allow a better quality of life to the patient with even simpler and less painful administrations, “he added.
PIPAC is still considered a relatively new and evolving technique. Clinical trials and research are underway to determine its long-term efficacy and safety compared to traditional treatment approaches.
In this way, and with more and more tools in their possession, oncologists observe how cancer research is changing significantly day after day. These revolutionary advances have brought us to a time when promising new treatments that give millions of people life expectancy are now possible.