State of the art equipment used in the cancer diagnosis. [photo/maxnetwork.com]
The advancement of technology, research into the prevention and early detection of cancer has hit a new high.
October is a breast cancer awareness month and state-of-the-art modifications have occurred.
Immunotherapy
This treatment is being used as an alternative to chemotherapy.
The treatment uses certain parts of a person’s immune system to fight cancer.
This is through in a couple of methods such as stimulating one’s invulnerable system to toil harder or smarter to attack cancer cells.
Fluid biopsy
This new technology for retrieving cancer cells from the circulation has made it possible to obtain a fluid biopsy from the bloodstream without the need for an invasive procedure.
With this new method, it has made it possible to diagnose and manage cancer from a blood test, rather than a traditional biopsy.
CT scans for early lung cancer detection
X-rays have not been able to pick up trivial nodules that could convert into cancer.
But now, a CT scan offers 3D images of lungs. In as much as it might not give out precise results, it still delivers a bit of result that one may essential further confirmation.
It’s common knowledge to discover small, abnormal areas called nodules or masses in the lungs, especially in current or former smokers.
However, most nodules realized on CT scans are not cancer.
Molecular cancer diagnostics
This precision medicine approach to cancer has already led to new treatments that are tailored to the particular molecular abnormalities that cause cancer in individual patients.
Treatment involves sequencing DNA from the patient’s tumor and trying to match the key mutations to drugs on the market or clinical trials already on the way.
Over time, this will become the standard for assigning cancer treatment regimes.
Most cancer treatments today destroy not only cancerous cells but also healthy ones.