Cancer Treatment Should Be ReclassifiedCancer Treatment Should Be Reclassified

Cancer Treatment Should Be Reclassified

Cancer Treatment Should Be Reclassified: Under traditional classification, cancers have been treated according to the part of the body from which they originate, such as the breasts or lungs. The new study carried out analysis of 23 of the most common tumor types, and also 10 rare ones, to see which similarities and differences they had on both a genetic and cellular level.

Scientists have found that nearly two-thirds of cancer clusters that shared key molecular similarities were found in more than one area of the body. The study further found that common cancers, such as in the lung and breast, can be broken down into more than one cancer.

Cancer Treatment Should Be Reclassified
Cancer Treatment Should Be Reclassified

Reclassifying cancer is important otherwise it means that patients would not always be receiving the most effective treatment. Patients will have the best shot at successful treatment if their tumors can first be classified according to their genomic and molecular makeup.

Immunotherapy, where the body’s immune system is enlisted to help fight cancer, is one treatment that could potentially be rolled out more widely. Drugs used for the treatment of other conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, could also ultimately be re purposed to fight cancer.

In other cases, cancers that are harder to treat might require a combination of medications. Lung and colo-rectal cancers are among those that would often benefit from more targeted treatment. Oncology departments and drug companies can work together better to improve care for patients. This will ease it for the patients and they will be able to take advantage of this paradigm shift in cancer classification.

Reclassification would eventually lead to better, more targeted treatments, stated in the research study by the Pan-Cancer Atlas US. The study suggested that “It’s time to rewrite the textbooks on cancer”.

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