TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN TREATING CANCER

TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN TREATING CANCER

Introduction

Cancer is one of the primary causes of death from a global perspective. During 2006 alone, cancer was responsible for approximately 13 percent of total deaths on the globe, which were about 7.6 million out of 58 million cases of death. Projections point out that deaths related to cancer will continue getting bigger to approximately 9 million during 2015 and 11.4 million during 2030. In the light of this wary statistics, there have been diverse technical advancements that have been directed at enhancing the effectiveness of the cancer therapy process. Various research disciplines have attempted to harness the diverse technologies that can be used in the therapy of cancer. A notable inference from the above observations is that the technical advancements in the cancer treatment have made a significant contribution towards the effectiveness of cancer therapy, which in turn has the potential of reducing the cases of cancer and its associated deaths by facilitating prevention and control and early detection (Mansoor, 2007).

One of the recent technical advancements in the treatment of cancer is the biological application of nanotechnology in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Presently, nanotechnology is being used of offer precise and timely medical data that can be used in the diagnosis of diseases. In addition, miniature devises that use nanotechnology have been developed to facilitate the administration of automatic treatment when needed. Cancer diagnostics and therapy is one of the medical disciplines that gained significantly from nanotechnology research (Mansoor, 2007). There are diverse applications of nanotechnology in the treatment of cancer including the use of quantum dots, which is used in the research, management and therapy of cancer; gold nanoparticles, which are mainly used for cancer diagnostics and therapy; Alkylating Agents, which are mainly used in the therapy of cancers that are slow growing. Additional applications of nanotechnology in the treatment of cancer include the use of dendrimers and polymers. It is arguably evident that nanotechnology presents an advantage in the medical field that will facilitate the treatment and prevention of cancer. Nanotechnology has the potential of changing the manner in which cancer therapy is done in order to facilitate the achievement of the goal in reducing the increasing suffering and deaths that are associated with cancer. Clinical impacts of nanotechnology regarding the treatment of cancer include specific drug delivery vehicles, cancer imaging, detection of thermal tumor ablation and the use of magnetic field targeting of cancerous tumors. Further developments in nanotechnology are likely to impose significant clinical developments in the treatment of cancer (Mansoor, 2007).

The second technical advancement in the treatment of cancer is the use of radiation therapy technology. Among the core areas of radiation therapy that facilitates the safest and effective therapy of cancer is the use of proton technology, which serves to eliminate the safety risks and side effects associated with the conventional radiation therapy. Proton therapy has facilitated the treatment and diagnosis of the most challenging kinds of cancer such pediatric cancers and the diagnosis and treatment of tumors found in the most sensitive body tissues such as the brain, spine, prostate and eye. Under the proton technology therapy, cancer therapy is administered using protons beams that serve to convey powerful radiations to the defined tumors directly. Proton therapy minimizes the damages imposed to the neighboring tissues. As a result, higher levels of precision imply that there are relatively less side effects compared to the conventional radiation therapy (Jeremic, 2011). The primary area of concern when establishing proton therapy facility is to take into account the severity of the side effects and the potential hazards associated with radiation therapy. Other areas of radiotherapy that have facilitated the treatment and diagnosis of cancer include External beam radiation therapy (EBRT), Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, Radio immunotherapy (RIT), stereotactic body radiation therapy and cyber knife. It is arguably evident that radiation therapy has played an integral role in reducing the suffering and deaths associated with cancer (Jeremic, 2011).

The third technical development in the treatment of cancer is the use of cancer chemotherapy, which mainly involves the use of chemical agents to kill cancer cells and sop further growths. Chemotherapy functions by killing cells that are characterized by rapid multiplication, implying that it has the potential of killing normal cells that undergo rapid multiplication cells found in the bone marrow and the digestive tract. Recent technical developments in chemotherapy have aimed at ensuring effective management of the side effects associated with the damage of the normal cells within the vicinity of the cancerous growth (Mansoor, 2007). Chemotherapy is relatively effective in the treatment of some cancers although it cannot treat other cancer types. In addition, research has shown that chemotherapy increases the survival of the most prevalent forms of cancer such as the lung and breast cancer by 1.5 percent in both cases. Technical developments in the administration of chemotherapy have made significant contributions to its effectiveness since its inception. Research has shown that chemotherapy have the capability of increasing cancer survival by 2 percentage points (Meyer, 2011).

Conclusion

This paper has highlighted the major technical developments in the treatment of cancer including nanotechnology cancer therapy, proton cancer therapy and chemotherapy. All of the technical developments have made significant contributions to the clinical diagnosis, prevention and treatment of the various forms of cancer. Therefore, it can be concluded that the technical advancements in cancer treatment has the potential of reducing the number of deaths and suffering associated with cancer in future.

References

Jeremic, B. (2011). Advances in Radiation Oncology in Lung Cancer. New York: Springer.

Mansoor, A. (2007). Nanotechnology for cancer therapy. New York: CRC/Taylor & Francis.

Meyer, L. (2011). Imrt, igrt, sbrt: advances in the treatment, planning & delivery of radiotherapy. New York: Karger Publishers.

Vande, W., & Klein, G. (2010). Advances in Cancer Research, Volume 108. New York: Academic Press.