A recently published report has found that prevention strategies, diagnostic tools and exceptional strides in cancer treatments have driven down cancer mortality rates. The report, which was published by the American Association for Cancer Research, highlighted that over the last 20 years, cancer death rates have dropped considerably. As a result, the number of cancer survivors in America is currently more than 18 million, which is about three million higher than the figure recorded in the early ‘70s.
Earlier this year, President Joseph Biden relaunched an initiative called “Cancer Moonshot,” which is focused on obtaining more funding for cancer research, particularly immunotherapies.
Dr. Lisa Coussens, president of the American Association for Cancer Research, stated that investing in basic science in cancer research greatly benefited the public. Coussens called attention to the increasing use of immunotherapies as an example of how cancer therapies had improved.
She explained that the ability to leverage or use the immune system’s power to fight cancer had led to an increase in rates of survival in a range of cancers, including kidney and lung cancers as well as melanoma. Immunotherapies usually work by using an individual’s immune system to eliminate cancer cells.
Dr. Larry Norton of the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center explained that while an individual’s immune system is not designed to attack their cells, the use of drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors make it possible for the system do so when fighting cancer. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are drugs that block checkpoint proteins from binding with other proteins. This blockage then allows T cells to eliminate the cancer cells. In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ipilimumab, the first immune checkpoint inhibitor to be used to treat metastatic melanoma.
Since then, the federal agency has approved eight additional checkpoint inhibitors to treat more than 15 types of cancer. For example, in March of this year, the FDA approved relatlimab, a new immune checkpoint inhibitor for the treatment of melanoma.
The report also highlights another way to reduce cancer mortality rates: early screening and diagnosis. Coussens stated that early diagnosis of cancer was important, explaining that an individual had the best odds of surviving cancer if the disease was caught early while in its premalignant stage or before the primary tumor had metastasized.
This is why more people are encouraged to undergo routine screening for common cancers such as prostate, colon, cervical and breast. Researchers hope to improve screening methods for cancer using new techniques such as liquid biopsies.
Cancer diagnostics and therapy is bound to become even better over the coming years as various companies, including QSAM Biosciences Inc. (OTCQB: QSAM), commercialize a variety of technologies and treatments calculated to offer superior clinical outcomes to patients suffering from various cancers.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to QSAM Biosciences Inc. (OTCQB: QSAM) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/QSAM
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