New developments in cancer treatment
Cancer is the cause of almost ten million deaths annually, statistics that make it the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, with breast, lung and colon cancer being among the most common types of malignancy.
However, there is some good news, as the progress of medical technology and science paves the way for the emergence of new therapeutic options with better oncological outcomes, a lower burden on patients and ultimately a longer life expectancy and better quality of life.
20 years ago, almost 100% of patients diagnosed with cancer received only cytostatic chemotherapy, guided exclusively by the origin of the tumor, while having to deal with the serious side effects and sometimes uncertain results of this therapeutic model.
Developments in treatment
In the last two decades, there have been significant advances in cancer treatment research. Drug treatment has been enriched with two new weapons, immunotherapy and targeted therapy, which have come to complement or even replace classical chemotherapy.
Today, over 50% of our patients are treated based on immune biomarkers and molecular characteristics of the tumor, regardless of their origin, and we have excellent results.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a therapeutic approach that uses a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. This can be done in two ways:
- By stimulating or enhancing the immune system’s natural defenses to identify and destroy cancer cells.
- By making substances in a laboratory that mimic components of the immune system responsible for identifying and destroying cancer cells.
In recent decades, immunotherapy has become an important part of the treatment plan for certain types of cancer, such as melanoma, and can be used alone or in combination with other types of treatment.
Targeted therapy
Conventional chemotherapy works by destroying all rapidly dividing cells, both healthy and cancerous. In contrast, targeted therapy uses drugs that are designed to “target” cancer cells, without affecting healthy cells in the body.
This is achieved at the cellular level. Cancer cells need specific molecules, often in the form of proteins, to survive, multiply, and spread. These molecules are usually produced by the genes that cause cancer, as well as by the cells themselves.
Targeted therapy is designed to interfere with these molecules by blocking their function, thereby slowing or even stopping the spread of cancer.
Always putting the patient first, the Athens Medical Group is taking action and significantly improving its service conditions, with valid diagnosis programs, by upgrading the day care department, by creating an independent solid tumor and hematology clinic, by using the latest generation of radiological and radiotherapy techniques, by actively participating in clinical studies and – finally – by the interdisciplinary approach through the Oncology Council, regarding decision-making for the oncology patient.
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