Cancer Treatment & Research: Alternatives To Chemotherapy Could Prolong Lives

Cancer is among  the most dreadful illnesses that some have to bear. However, a breakthrough in cancer treatment is discovered that could prolong patients' lives.

According to News Local, a new treatment for cancer that offers hope for the patients and their family has been discovered by Professor Michael Boyer, chief clinical officer at Sydney's cutting-edge cancer centre The Chris O'Brien Lifehouse.

The report suggests that Boyer had discussed new cancer treatments that offer an alternative to chemotherapy and radiation. The good news, this medication has the potential to dramatically prolong and improve the lives of cancer patients.

The first group of drugs is called Tyrosine-Kinase Inhibitors also known as TKIs for short. "These are treatments that match the genetic make-up of individual cancers," Boyer said. "They treat the mutation that gave rise to the growth and spread of the disease."

Cell growth is a problem in cancer because cancer cells tend to receive altered messages or the messages to grow or die may be missing. Due to this, the cells began to grow uncontrollably and divide too often. In a normal cell, when it divides the end of its chromosomes become shorter and eventually the cell dies and is being replaced, Science Museum has learned.

Unfortunately, cancer cells cheat this system, they retain their long chromosomes by adding bits back on and as a result the cancer cells  survive and multiply, it lives forever. When a cell acquires a gene mutation that helps it multiply when it should not and survive while others die, it has an advantage over  the others and eventually abnormal cells acquire mutations in more genes causing uncontrolled growth.

Boyer  stressed that TKIs are not cures for cancer, but it could control cancer growth.    

In the past, there were patients suffering from lung cancer who were lucky  enough to live for 10 to 11 months more.  Boyer stressed that TKIs could extent that for more than two years.

Boyer also  revealed that immunotherapies can be considered an "even more modern" treatment options citing that when one's immune system is functional it should "identify and eliminate" cancers before they grow. However, he disclosed that some cancers are invinsible and as a result they escape detection.

"Immunotherapies are the very first drugs that ­reverse the problem. They allow the immune system to see cancer and fight it," Boyer said.

However, cancer therapies might work for some and for others. Thus, the challenge for cancer specialist is  to determine what combination of therapies would work out to cancer  patients with the best chance of having a good outcome.

"The perception is that everything is hopeless but that is not the case," Boyer said remaining to  be positive. "In fact, over the past 25 years the chance of being alive after five years of cancer has gone from 46 to 67 per cent. The future of cancer care is changing - rapidly."