Salvatore Alesci on Cancer Research

Like both sides of a coin, there are two sides in the battle against cancer. We are making huge strides in preventing, slowing and in some cases beating many forms of cancer, but there are still considerable roadblocks to reaching our ultimate goal of a world free from cancer. Let’s start with the good news. For most of the 20th Century a diagnosis of cancer was seen as a death sentence – but no longer. Our early understanding of the related biological processes was relatively minimal as researchers initially believed cancer was a monolithic disease. Today, however, researchers in academia, the government and biopharmaceutical companies have come to better grasp the molecular and genetic underpinnings of many cancers, which is providing countless new roadmaps and opportunities to identify new treatment approaches. Since the 1970s, the five-year survival rate for cancer has risen from 58 percent to 83 percent. According to the Journal of Health Economics, medicines have been at the forefront, even more so than early detection, in the battle against cancer. Each new cancer medicine, whether it extends a life for six months or six years, has helped researchers open a new set of doors into drug discovery. Globally, there are over 3,000 cancer medicines in development around the world, with 80 percent having the potential to be first-in-class treatments. Although the vast majority of these projects will not result in approved medicines for patients, they represent an exciting ...
Source: PHRMA - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Source Type: news