As more research is done on cancer and cancer treatment, it has become easier to detect cancer developing in individuals. This helps them get the care they need earlier. As these processes become easier, more people can recover from their cancer before it becomes a more life-threatening issue.
Research completed in 2021 has led to the innovations that we will look forward to integrating in 2022. As more prevention methods are tested this year, hopefully, they will lead to more innovations that can help reduce the number of people suffering from cancer.
New Genetic Testing
Cancer has long been a mystery, but since 2003 when the human genome was finally mapped successfully, this mystery has become somewhat easier to solve. By looking at an individual’s genes, doctors do not have to blindly rely on chemotherapies, surgeries, and radiation treatments.
In 2022, more of these genetic testing processes will come into routine use. This can help families identify if they are at high risk for cancer, while doctors can identify what specific genes are mutating and creating cancer. Overall, this information can help people take preventive actions to keep cancer from occurring. On top of that, doctors can utilize more specific therapies to treat cancer more effectively than ever.
The Future of Oncology
Many researchers believe that genetic models will become the future of oncological treatments. Because of the many advantages that come with mapping and understanding a person’s genome, better treatments can be developed to treat cancer cases when they occur. Making more specific treatments will mean less trial and error for doctors and patients, helping everyone get back to normal faster.
Some of these ease-of-care goals won’t be attainable for some time, as more research still needs to be done in this area of human health. However, many gene therapies can be more effective than other stress-driven generalized therapies such as radiation. Increasing the availability of these treatments remains a major goal for genetic therapy researchers.
Integrating Identification and Treatment
The next major step in cancer diagnosis and treatment is an innovative new technology that may be able to do both tasks in real-time. The device, called the RefleXion X1, will be more helpful for individuals already receiving treatment for their cancer while still breaking new ground for diagnosing.
The goal of the device is to precisely direct radiation therapy to current tumors in the body. It will also search for other possibly unaccounted for tumors that may lay elsewhere. This will combine the identification and treatment aspects of radiation therapy. This helps ensure the machine will accurately target cancer cells over healthy ones while it also searches for other tumors that may be hiding in the individual receiving treatment.
Seeking More Clarity
This device will be exponentially more helpful to individuals who cannot receive surgery to remove their tumor and for individuals who experience rebounding cancer even after surgery. Researchers working on this device are still performing small clinical trials to prove its overall effectiveness, and many hope to have the device approved by the FDA as early as later this year.
Increasing Clinical Study Diversity
One issue with current cancer prevention and treatment techniques is that they are tested on a limited number of individuals through their trial phases. This can mean that unexpected reactions can occur in individuals who fit different ethnic backgrounds. Doctors may not be aware of these side effects if proper clinical studies were not completed on those groups.
Going into 2022, clinical testing facilities are attempting to increase their outreach to these groups. This way, clinical trials of new treatments will become more effective for everyone in need of cancer treatment, not just specific groups. While it becomes clearer that genetic factors often increase the risks of certain cancers and influence how these cancer symptoms emerge, more research must be done to determine how to better treat cancer for better treatment outcomes in ethnically diverse individuals.
Innovations from Harbinger Health
Harbinger Health is a new technology platform introduced by Flagship Pioneer, attempting to improve the accuracy of cancer screenings. Many cancer diagnoses are discovered through blood tests, which can detect high levels of certain proteins that usually indicate an abnormality in the body. However, these tests are not always accurate, producing false negatives or positives that can be dangerous for both groups.
Harbinger Health hopes to use AI technology in tandem with blood testing screening methods. Hopefully, the benefits this program could extend to cancer screens will extend past this single service into a cancer treatment tool as well. But for now, Harbinger Health can make cancer screenings easier and more accessible to everyone.
Increasing Community Outreach
There are still many communities in low-income and minority areas that don’t receive the same cancer outreach programs as other communities do. When it comes to treating and preventing cancer in at-risk individuals, the first step often happens before an individual even enters a doctor’s office.
Getting the Information Out
Many people across the nation don’t understand the importance of cancer screening, especially in individuals aged 40–75, who are most at risk. This is why innovative community outreach is vital to reaching these people, to help them preserve or protect their good health.
In 2022, many non-profit cancer organizations are planning on increasing their outreach so that more people can be aware of the cancer resources near them. While some predictions expect an increase in later-stage cancer diagnoses over the next year, these programs can help people get treatment faster than ever before. This will help increase the likelihood of positive treatment outcomes for everyone.
Looking Towards More Hope in 2022
As we face troubling times, it can be difficult to hold on to hope even though it is essential for getting through them. In the future, more and more cancer prevention and treatment technologies will emerge. More testing will verify the accuracy of these tests to ensure that everyone who needs treatment for cancer gets it as early as possible, drastically increasing the survival treatment outcomes for all.
Wheelhouse works with local diagnostic facilities, primary care offices, civic organizations, churches, and community leaders to create customized cancer prevention programs tailored to your communities and populations using the leading technology. We will work with your member engagement group to design incentive programs to ensure member utilization and cancer prevention compliance. Learn more about our approach, and contact us today to start a conversation!
Sources:
https://www.cityofhope.org/breakthroughs/5-oncology-breakthroughs-to-be-excited-about-in-2022
https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2021/12/science-predictions-2022.html
Flagship Pioneering Launches Harbinger Health… | Flagship Pioneeringhttps://list23.com/438791-harbinger-health-is-launched-by-flagship-pioneering-to-detect-early-cancer-with-a-simple-bio-ai-base/
