Unveiling Progress: How Blood Cancer Research is Changing Lives
Do you know that 41,000 people are diagnosed with blood cancer every year? People are still not as aware as they should be. Blood cancer research over the years has incentivized diverse cancer treatment methods and approaches effective in complete removal or extensive cancer management. The research process is still ongoing with the aim of combating blood cancer with minimum discomfort.
Blood Cancer Research Overview
Twenty years ago, scientists used a trial-and-error method for studying cancer. Now, we have better tools, like genomic analyses, to look deeply into blood cancer. These tools help us find ways to treat cancer more effectively with fewer side effects.
Looking ahead, treating blood cancers will be more personalized. This means doctors will change their approach based on each patient. They might use the patient's immune system or drugs that match their disease. The goal is to make the treatment stronger and prevent the cancer from coming back. We may use fewer broad treatments like chemotherapy.
The future will likely involve closely watching the disease using advanced techniques like next-generation sequencing. This way, doctors can make just the right decisions for each person. As we progress in blood cancer research, things will get more exciting and varied, leaving behind the old one-size-fits-all methods.
Areas of Advancements in Blood Cancer Research
Blood cancer research has been a leader in at least eight crucial areas.
Advances in Chemotherapy
Treating cancer with medicines was controversial in the early 1900s. During that time, doctors got inspired by the mustard gas effects on the WBC of soldiers fighting in World War I. Then, the doctors tested similar particles on several lymphoma patients. In the 1960s, they combined different drugs that showed promise for childhood leukaemia and Hodgkin lymphoma.
Fast forward to this day, nine out of 10 kids with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) survive for minimum five years. Thanks to chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is now a cornerstone in treating several types of cancers. Whether one aims to cure the disease or shrink tumours before surgery, everything is sorted.
Understanding Genetic Causes of Cancer
Cancer is rooted in faulty genes. In 1960, US scientists in Philadelphia found out the first genetic abnormality causing cancer in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) cells. This abnormality, known as the 'Philadelphia chromosome’.
It is caused when two chromosomes break and swap bits of DNA. This leads to a faulty protein, triggering involuntary cell multiplication. Since then, more genetic errors, especially 'cut-and-shut' faults, have been found in various cancers.
Molecularly Targeted Therapy
Early work on chromosomal abnormalities paved the way for a new way to treat cancer. Acute promyelocytic leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, involves immature white blood cells getting 'stuck' in development. In the 1980s, scientists linked this to a 'cut-and-shut' chromosome and a faulty hybrid protein blocking cell division.
Trials with a molecule called all-trans retinoic acid showed promising results, marking a vital example of a drug targeting the molecular root leading to successful treatment. Later, a molecule blocking the faulty protein from the Philadelphia chromosome driving CML cell growth was discovered. The drug, imatinib, and its counterparts have revolutionized CML treatment.
Monitoring Disease at a Molecular Level
By the 1980s, researchers improved cancer cell detection sensitivity. Advances in techniques were particularly notable in acute and chronic leukaemia. This allowed doctors to detect residual leukemic cells after treatment ('minimal residual disease'). Starting in 2003, Bloodwise researchers contributed to a national clinical trial for children with ALL.
This trial aimed to identify cancers responding well to initial treatment. For good responders, doctors could reduce harsh chemotherapy. It also helped detect cancer resurgence, leading to timely therapeutic intervention. The results were impressive, elevating overall survival to over 90%, reducing relapses, and fewer treatment-related deaths. Similar blood-based tests are now being developed for various cancers.
The Key Players in Our Immune System
Blood cells play a crucial role in forming a healthy immune system. Jacques Miller's work in the 1960s showed the thymus's critical role in the immune response. He discovered two primary forms of white blood cells, B and T cells, and how they mature in the thymus.
Understanding whether blood cancers affect B or T cells became crucial for treatment. Insights into the immune system have shed light on protecting the body from cancer, potential ways to use immunity to treat cancer, and improving stem cell transplants.
Cutting-edge research focuses on reprogramming T cells to target rogue cells, potentially harnessing the immune system to destroy cancer precisely and enduringly.
Using Antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies (MABs), first identified in myeloma patients' blood, have transformed disease diagnosis and treatment. MABs' impact on diagnosis extended to infectious diseases and various disorders. By the 1980s, scientists used MABs to categorize blood cancers based on molecular profiles. Researchers realized MABs could be a highly selective therapy. Promising results in trials during the early 1980s laid the foundation for similar approaches in various cancers and diseases.
A standout antibody drug, rituximab, developed in the mid-1990s, has proven highly successful in treating specific non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Its applications expanded to include autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, holding promise for chronic fatigue syndrome and organ transplantation.
Unearthing Viral Roots of Cancer
Scientists in London first identified the possibility of a virus causing cancer in Burkitt lymphoma in 1964. After being first connected to Burkitt lymphoma, the Epstein-Barr virus has since been connected to a number of blood and non-blood malignancies as well as potentially distinct autoimmune disorders. Numerous additional viruses that cause cancer have been found since this ground-breaking study. Vaccinations against common forms have significantly decreased the incidence of these diseases, such as the human papillomavirus linked to cervical cancer.
The Evolution Stages of Cancers
Research on blood cancer, particularly discoveries regarding chromosomal abnormalities in leukemia, greatly aided in the development of early theories regarding the evolution and diversification of cancer cell populations.
Researchers in Canada investigating mouse leukemia in the mid-1990s discovered a tiny number of aberrant cells known as "cancer stem cells." These cells have the ability to self-replicate and generate new cancer cell populations. This tiny population of cancer stem cells may vary, which could explain the heterogeneity in blood cancers.
It's important to realize this because relapse can occur if a few resistant cancer stem cells are left behind. Realizing the promise of molecularly targeted treatments has proven to be a real challenge, regardless of whether heterogeneity involves cancer stem cells or not.
Conclusion
Blood cancer research has advanced significantly, with a yearly diagnosis of 41,000 people. Researchers are working on more effective and personalized treatments, moving away from older methods. Using more innovative tools like genomic analyses, they aim to strengthen treatments with fewer side effects.
