Hridkamal Roy, Assistant Editor, India Pharma Outlook
The experimental usage of Base Editing in 2023 by Great Ormand Street Hospital in England has caused widespread havoc in the cancer treatment landscape globally. The implementation of this therapy was found to be successful even after a failed bone marrow transplant in a patient. Furthermore, BioNTech headquartered in Germany is researching on the development of mRNA vaccines for cancer and there are numerous other instances where medical science has overcome hurdles in order to find cancer remedies. Medical communities across the world have dedicated tremendous time and effort towards the advancement of this and consequently, reports suggest that in the US, though more people are now being diagnosed with cancer, there has been a massive decline in the mortality rate. On this note, it is worth mentioning that new remedies have been invented for blood cancer treatment in children.
“We know pediatric hematolias and bone marrow transplant patients; I would talk about the most common cancer in pediatric age group which is blood cancer or acute lymphoblastic leukemia. So, a lot of new things have come in acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment now. You can plan the therapy according to whether the patient is a standard risk, intermediate, or high risk. You can categorize the patient into three different categories and accordingly, you can decide on the therapy. Then those patients who don't respond to the therapy nowadays, we have molecular tests available with which you can plan the targeted therapies. New medicines targeted therapies are available which specifically act on the cancer cells and doesn't affect the near mice cells”, said Dr Vikas Dua, Principal Director & Head, Paediatric Haematology, Paediatric Haemato Oncology & BMT, Fortis Memorial Research Institute.
Though several treatment methodologies are under trial, many approved remedies for the treatment of blood cancer are being widely utilized to reduce threat and mortality rate for leukemia patients.
Immunotherapy treatment has proved to be significantly successful in the treatment of cancer. Specifically, the T-cell transfer therapy has given positive results in the treatment of certain types of blood cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma. Through this process, medications are given to a patient to boost the body’s immune system and help it find and destroy the cancer cells.
To give an example, treatment through Monoclonal antibodies is a type of immunotherapy treatments implemented on leukemia patients. These antibodies are immune system proteins manufactured in labs that are specifically designed to bind with specific targets on cancer cells. Some monoclonal antibodies have the ability to mark cancer cells to be detected and destroyed by the immune system.
The implementation of precision medicine has opened new gateways for personalized therapy for specific Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with positive results. Approvals for many targeted therapies have been done and several are currently being tested for specific mutations (i.e. FLT3, IDH, BCL-2, TP53). The usage of precision medicine has also been helpful in improving clinical outcomes and ensuring lesser toxicity as compared with intensive treatment thus allowing the potential for combination therapy.
According to research, the ongoing trials and analysis of real data will establish the role of these molecules in monotherapy treatment or the combination of them in different AML settings (front-line, relapsed/refractory, or post-transplant). Knowledge and industry experience in drug-sensitivity predictors and pharmacogenetic biomarkers are the two aspects that could be primary for the growth of precision medicine in the coming few years, but a better understanding of AML biology and pathogenesis are also required to put those into effect in terms of clinical practice.
According to reports published by World Health Organization (WHO), cancer claimed the lives of nearly 10 million people in the year 2020. In this regard, Liquid biopsies have gained recognition as one of the innovative diagnostic techniques because of their ability to provide real-time and non-invasive monitoring of tumor dynamics for the oncology sector. Important insights about tumor heterogeneity, minimum residual disease identification, treatment response, and personalized treatment of cancer by analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), extracellular vesicles, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and microRNAs can be obtained through Liquid Biopsies.
Many discoveries are being made in leukemia treatment and at the same time many therapies are undergoing research and trials and will hit the healthcare sector. We will be able to witness the growth of many new targeted cell and gene therapies for the treatment of blood cancer in the coming years.
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