What Would a True Cure for Cancer Have to Do

Many of the chance factors to practise with cancer are related to lifestyle, so there is concrete action people can accept to avoid getting the disease. Image credit - Pixabay/ MabelAmber, licensed under pixabay license

Cancer is a group of diseases that we may never be able to cure completely, but scientists are optimistic that vaccines, personalised medicine and smart lifestyle choices will help prevent and treat a much greater proportion of cases than currently happens.

We asked three cancer experts - Nobel laureate Professor Harald zur Hausen, Professor Walter Ricciardi and Dr Elisabete Weiderpass – for their thoughts on curing cancer. They all sit down on the EU's Horizon Europe mission board for cancer and will help to define a concrete target for Europe in this area over the side by side decade.

Prof. Harald zur Hausen, German language Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg

'Testify of infections linked to cancer provide hope of preventing upwardly to one-half of all cancers'

If we can always cure cancer completely – that is an open question which I cannot reply. Nosotros accept a skilful chance of drastically reducing the incidence of cancers, but what we see at present is that the incidence, or occurrence, of cancer is increasing globally.

The mortality of cancer patients is slightly decreasing, but the increase in incidence is non compensated by the decrease in mortality. At that place are still a big number of cases coming upwardly every year, and if we actually want to exercise something confronting cancer in the hereafter, we need to stop the increase.

Nosotros know in that location are a number of cancer take chances factors that can be avoided. At this moment, we also know of about 20% of cancers where infections are involved. We tin not only effectively immunise patients against these types of cancer, simply most eradicate information technology, in detail Hepatitis B (a cause of liver cancer) and Human Papillomavirus (which Prof. zur Hausen discovered is linked to cervical cancer) where nosotros take vaccines that are before long available.

We believe we have prove that at least 30% more human cancers are likewise linked to infectious events. This provides at least the promise that in the almost time to come other methods tin can exist developed that will also lead to long-term protection from those diseases – specifically colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer, where testify is mounting that specific infectious events play a role.

Recently, we discovered a completely new class of infectious agents which are derived originally from plasmids. Plasmids are a kind of mini-chromosome of bacteria, which nosotros observe in a very big number of colon cancer patients. These are infections which persist for decades, causing chronic inflammations, and these inflammations are actually the cause of oxygen radicals and mutation events in cells that are susceptible to cancer development.

Nosotros have all the (plasmid) genomes sequenced that nosotros have identified so far, and what came up was really a surprise for us, considering they do not represent viral nor bacterial sequences. They are slightly modified bacterial plasmids, originating from specific bacteria merely learnt to replicate independently in cattle and human cells. We can demonstrate that they are plant in inflammatory lesions of the colon, breast and prostate. So, in my opinion, this will hopefully permit new approaches for prevention and, in the long run, for treatment of these very common types of cancers.

The biggest challenge is to develop more than bones research and put more emphasis on preventative measures to cake the incidence of cancer occurrence, fugitive the precursor lesions of cancer with surgical interventions. Nosotros need to improve the treatment protocol for the curing of cancers. And we need to devise some methodology in order to reach long-term protection of patients, for a lifetime.

Prof. Walter Ricciardi, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

'Digital technology tin can help us discover more precise means of tackling these diseases'

Cancer is a general definition for a serial of diseases, so nosotros cannot have a full general approach – a solution for every type of cancer – but we can develop a full general strategy. It needs an brotherhood betwixt the different stakeholders, not only in the health sector, but likewise in the social sector, because many of the behaviours that favour the onset of cancer are modifiable by lifestyle and prevention. Nosotros also accept to have advantage of the immense progress in technology. I'm confident nosotros are going to detect a better arroyo to tackle this disease.

Nosotros have the possibility via digital technology today to take a lot of data that, in principle, could be related to genome sequencing, since, as far every bit we know, at that place are some cancers that are genetically determined. We know that the majority are related to v factors, iv of which are behaviours – alcohol utilise, tobacco use, eating too much, and not doing enough physical activity, as well as pollution. Digital engineering can incorporate a lot of data, going from the very general to the specific characteristics of a single person.

Agreement someone's specific characteristics means that we can develop a more personalised and precision-targeted approach, fugitive what happens now – where we provide a single drug, say for every kind of breast cancer. We know that produces side effects in some women who don't get any real advantage from the drug. So, looking at a subpopulation of women who become breast cancer, that is the approach we accept to develop.

Immunotherapy (where the patient'south allowed organisation is stimulated to attack the cancer) has also been achieving incredible results. In the by, some cancers like lung cancers or metastatic melanoma were impossible to treat, where now nosotros take the possibility to actually treat them and, in some cases, to have a substantial solution to the illness. I think we can exist optimistic also on this front.

The challenge for the future is the immense information that we will have – genomic data for 500 meg (European) citizens – that has to be managed appropriately, with respect to privacy.

Dr Elisabete Weiderpass, International Agency for Enquiry on Cancer, World Health Arrangement, Lyon, France

'Individuals should learn the European Code Confronting Cancer – the 12 ways to reduce take a chance'

Prof. zur Hausen says cancers where infections are involved offer hope of finding methods to protect against those diseases. Image credit - DKFZ T. Schwerdt

Cancer is a family of diseases. There are over a hundred different cancer types. Some types are curable, and indeed are being cured, especially when they are detected before and in rich countries, while other types we just don't know how to cure.

For some cancer types, let'due south say early stage breast cancer, testicular cancer, and some types of leukaemia, we already know ways to diagnose information technology relatively early, equally well as ways to treat it extremely effectively.

In that location are several cancer types where very substantial progress has been made, but at that place are several types that we don't know how to deal with. At that place is a very common cancer type, prostate cancer, where we nevertheless practise not know the best ways to detect it early on and if it's worthwhile to detect information technology early on. We don't have proficient screening tools and we don't know how to differentiate between slow-growing types that do not need much intervention at all and rapid-growing types. So prostate cancer is definitely one cancer where we have a very big challenge in terms of public wellness because it affects a very large number of men.

With the enormous increase in the number of cancer patients expected over the next decades due to the increment in life expectancy, governments are called to urgently and more rigorously implement cancer prevention and cancer control programmes as 30-forty% of cancers are preventable (in European countries; for other countries the proportion of preventable cancers is even higher).

What ordinary European citizens can do is learn the European Lawmaking Against Cancer. These are 12 ways, based on very solid evidence, to assist reduce your cancer take a chance and to assist detect certain cancers early.

For example, smoking remains responsible for half of all preventable cancers in Europe. An inappropriate diet which does not take plenty fruits and vegetables and a nutrition that leads to obesity are other important causes of cancer in Europe.

As told to Ethan Bilby.

The interviews have been edited for clarity and length.

19/9/nineteen - This story has been updated to reverberate that 30-40% of cancers are preventable in European countries and that in other countries the charge per unit of preventable cancers is even higher.

The scope of the Horizon Europe Mission on Cancer will be under discussion on 25 September at the EU'south Enquiry and Innovation Days consequence in Brussels, Kingdom of belgium.

European Enquiry & Innovation Days

The European Inquiry & Innovation Days, which will take identify in Brussels, Belgium, from 24 to 26 September, are designed to bring together policymakers, academics, industry, civil society and entrepreneurs to discuss how enquiry and innovation tin can assist tackle the major problems facing the EU over the next decade.

The idea is to seek a broad range of opinions from experts and interested parties about priorities for the first four years of the Eu's upcoming €100 billion research funding programme, Horizon Europe. In addition to conference sessions, policymakers from the European union and national administrations volition be bachelor throughout the effect in a space chosen Horizon Village to gather farther input from participants.

The event, which is set to be an annual affair, consists of a policy briefing to shape the Horizon Europe work programme, an innovation hub for innovators and investors to network, and a public exhibition called Science is Wonderful!.

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Source: https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine/will-we-ever-cure-cancer

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