Cancer therapy Higher life expectancy and better quality of life

Significant improvement in the treatment options for cancer
The diagnosis of a cancer is always a heavy stroke of fate for those affected, especially since the treatment options were for a long time only very limited. However, tumor therapy has made tremendous progress over the past few years and many cancers are relatively easy to treat today. According to a recent communication by the Medical University of Vienna (MedUni Vienna), innovative approaches to diagnostics and therapy for patients with a wide variety of cancers and stages have brought about significant improvements in life expectancy and quality of life.

According to the experts, the positive development is also due to recent successes with the so-called immunological anticancer therapies. This therapeutic approach is based "on the recognition that tumor cells suppress the defense against themselves and thus successfully escape destruction by the body's own defense mechanisms," reports the MedUni Vienna. The new immunotherapies protect the immune system with the help of a blockade of these mechanisms or a re-activation against the tumor. "The first approved drugs are already proving themselves in clinical use, especially in advanced stages of melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer and renal cell carcinoma," says Christoph Zielinski, Head of the University Department of Internal Medicine I of the MedUni Vienna / AKH Vienna at a press conference on the occasion of the upcoming World Creed Day.

Thanks to the improved treatment options, the life expectancy and quality of life of cancer patients have improved significantly. (Image: Photographee.eu/fotolia.com)

Further improvements in cancer therapy in sight
Further improvements in cancer therapy are to be expected also in the near future, as according to Zielinski "many new substances are almost ready for the market". In addition, another important field of research is "the establishment of new combinations of drugs that either enhance the function of the immune defense or cancel their blockade." In addition to the work in the field of cancer immunotherapy also in the field of personalized medicine intensive research activities, which include the testing of new drugs in studies, but also the development of new predictive biomarkers for assessing individual therapeutic success. A big advantage of these targeted therapies is that they are generally very well tolerated.

Revolutionary success in treatment
Revolutionary successes have recently been achieved in various areas of cancer therapy, such as the treatment of leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, according to the MedUni Vienna. "In the field of hematological malignant diseases, in the last two to three years, no stone has remained on top of one another," emphasizes Ulrich Jäger from the University Department of Internal Medicine I of the MedUni Vienna / AKH Vienna. Pioneering advances have been made particularly in acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, multiple myeloma, acute myeloid leukemia and Hodgkin's disease. Through this, the survival rate and the chance of recovery could be drastically increased in certain patient groups, even in advanced stages of disease, the expert reports.

Completely new therapeutic approaches developed
Some completely new therapeutic approaches have been introduced according to the medical profession in recent years. These include, for example, the treatment of B cell tumors based on cell therapy with CAR (Chimaric Antigen Receptor) T cells. "A CD19 receptor, which recognizes malignant B cells, is introduced into normal T cells of a patient by means of a virus," explain the experts of MedUni Vienna. In children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, who had already been abandoned, remission rates of 100 percent were feasible with the method. "In adults with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, at least half of the patients come in complete remission," according to MedUni. According to the experts, the treatment options and thus the chances of survival of those affected have also improved markedly in recent years with regard to other highly prevalent cancers, such as breast cancer. (Fp)