Cancer Medicine Advances on Many Fronts
Dec. 24 --
TUESDAY, Dec. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The war against cancer gathered steam in 2008, as new drugs tackled the toughest cancers with some success, and advances were made in both disease prevention and risk factor identification.
A new report from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) details 12 "major" advances and 19 "notable advances" across the gamut of cancer prevention, screening, treatment and survival in the past year.
"These specific advances . . . reflect a maturation, if you will, of the whole approach of personalized medicine to oncology care," said ASCO President Dr. Richard L. Schilsky, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center. "And some of the reports deal with targeted therapies being used in a broader array of diseases. We're beginning to see the utility of targeted therapies expand across many, many diseases, and we're increasingly able to identify those patients who are most likely to benefit from those targeted therapies."
The report was expected to be published online Dec. 22 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
One of the most impressive reports of the year serves as a backdrop to these advances, pointed out Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. That was a study showing the first reported decline in the number of U.S. men and women developing and dying from cancer.
Nevertheless, some 1.4 million people received the devastating diagnosis of cancer in 2008, and half a million people died from the disease.
Following are the 12 major advances of 2008 identified by ASCO, divided into six general areas and not ranked in order of importance.
In the area of hard-to-treat cancers:
In the area of new drug approvals:
In the area of reducing cancer recurrence:
In the area of personalized medicine:
In the area of risk factors:
In the area of access to care:
The report also included two recommendations: Increase funding for clinical cancer research and boost the number of participants in clinical trials, which hovers at around 5 percent of all adult cancer patients who could be participating in such trials.
"The good news is that we continue to make great progress in cancer," Schilsky said. "All of that is based upon the strength of our research programs in this country, which are now really beginning to suffer. We've had five years of essentially flat funding to the National Cancer Institute, which really translates into an approximate 15 percent decrease in the budget. At a time when we have more opportunity and are making more progress than ever, the government is essentially pulling the rug out from under us."
"There have been significant advances, [but] if you're a patient out there or have a loved one who has cancer, the results are still not satisfying," said Dr. Otis Webb Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. "We have made definite positive steps, but they are steps. We haven't arrived. The problem is there are no home runs, just a bunch of bunt singles."
More information
View the full report at the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
SOURCES: Richard L. Schilsky, M.D., president, American Society of Clincial Oncology, and professor, medicine, University of Chicago Medical Center; Jay Brooks, M.D., chairman, hematology/oncology, Ochsner Health System, Baton Rouge, La.; Otis Webb Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer, American Cancer Society, Atlanta; Clinical Cancer Advances 2008: Major Research Advances in Cancer Treatment, Prevention and Screening