Public Health, Occupational Health and Epidemiology Conference

Cancer research and clinical oncology are essential areas of study that develop and enhance understanding of causation, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer to maintain better patient outcomes with improvement in quality of life. Frontiers in cancer research provide forces to develop molecular targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and personalized medicine. Such developments bring new hope into the treatment of all sorts of cancers. Research breakthroughs into practice result in comprehensive care comprising diagnostics, treatment, and support for cancer patients.

Of these approaches, the most promising is immunotherapy, which will translate into an army of immune cells targeted to destroy cancer cells. Checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T cell therapies have been particularly effective in certain cancers, so options when conventional treatment with chemotherapy or radiation is less effective. Such research continues to expand to include more and more cancers, as there are many clinical trials being done with the aim of bettering outcomes for even more patients.

Targeted therapies represent another significant step forward, where specific molecular targets linked to cancer growth are targeted. Often by inhibiting or altering these targets, targeted therapies can limit the advancement of the disease and avoid causing a reaction within normal cells, and thus, generally provoke fewer side effects than conventional treatments. There is a discovery of new biomarkers that improve diagnosis and the accuracy with which the treatment is designed.

Clinical trials are important to oncology, first in the development process testing new therapies for both safety and efficacy and then releasing them for use in patients as well as in research settings. Patients themselves gain access to new state-of-the-art therapies and are actually part of the research that one day will help other patients. Many oncology professionals are actively involved with research to ascertain if promising treatments are safe and effective, thus quickening the time when treatments proven to actually save lives are made available.

Cancer research and clinical oncology advance the care for cancer, improve survival, and alleviate the burden of cancer for millions of people. These fields bring innovation and collaboration through patient-centered approaches that change the very face of treatment and prevention for cancer.