Major Advance in Cancer Treatment

Fundamentally changed the perspective of the medical world…

Cancer ranks among the leading causes of death worldwide and in our country. In 91 of 172 countries globally, it appears as the most frequent or second most frequent cause of death in people under 70 years of age. In 2018, a total of 18.1 million people worldwide were diagnosed with cancer and 9.6 million died from cancer-related causes. The good news is that particularly in the last 2 years, very significant advances have been made in cancer treatment. The first of these was the ability to apply "personalized treatment" to a significant portion of cancer patients, where the genetic code of every cancer tissue is analyzed and targeted treatment protocols are implemented based on the results obtained. Even more importantly, 2018 marked itself in history as the golden year of "immunotherapy". Acıbadem Maslak Hospital Medical Oncology Specialist Prof. Dr. Yeşim Eralp noted that thanks to developments in personalized treatment and immunotherapy methods, even cancer types that looked untreatable just a few years ago can now provide near-cure life expectancy, stating, "Immunotherapy drugs created new treatment options, sometimes as an alternative to chemotherapy drugs and sometimes as an adjunct method. Moreover, it achieves this without compromising the patient's comfort and while preserving quality of life."

If the immune system does not recognize "cancer cells"…

Our immune system eliminates cancer cells with damaged genetic structure that are produced in our body every day. The response and reaction our body gives to such harmful formations is called "immune response". The cellular structures that make up the immune response quickly move toward damaged or threatened areas when any threat reaches our body, attempting to destroy organisms or structures they perceive as foreign. Our immune system can initially easily distinguish and eliminate cancer cells from our normal tissues. However, in some cases, it fails to perceive malignant cells as harmful and does not realize they need to be destroyed. Sometimes cancer cells suppress the immune system or create an armored defense system around themselves to create living space for themselves. As a result of these factors, cancer cells develop uncontrollably and transform into cancer tissue that can spread throughout our body.

Removes the brake that stops fighter cells!

The encouraging development is that the medical world now has a powerful weapon called the "immunotherapy" method against uncontrollably developing cancer cells. All treatment approaches against cancer through strengthening the immune system are referred to as "immunotherapy". Cited as the biggest step taken in oncological treatments in recent years, immunotherapy strengthens and restructures the immune response to fight cancer cells. It aims to eliminate cancer by releasing the immune brake created by cancer. Moreover, unlike chemotherapy treatment, it achieves this without causing serious side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and hair loss.

A breakthrough in cancer treatment

Immunotherapy, which has created great excitement in the medical world, was first applied in cancer treatment to cancer types resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, such as malignant melanoma and kidney cancer. However, older generation drugs used in these cancer types did not find very wide application areas due to limited efficacy and side effects. The medical world did not give up and continued to rapidly advance its work on immunotherapy. In 2018, the research conducted by researchers Dr. James Allison and Dr. Tasuku Honjo on immunology led to the development of a group of drugs called "immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI)" that release the brake on the immune system and enable the body's defense system to fight cancer. Medical Oncology Specialist Prof. Dr. Yeşim Eralp emphasizes that as a result of the studies conducted, these agents have opened a breakthrough in immunotherapy treatment.

Significant successes being achieved in treatment

Today, with ICI applied in almost all cancer types, significant successes have been achieved not only in malignant melanoma and kidney cancer, but especially in lung cancer. For example, in some lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and ICI together, survival periods of 3 years and beyond are no longer a dream. Medical Oncology Specialist Prof. Dr. Yeşim Eralp also emphasizes that in cancer types with "microsatellite instability (MSI)" characteristics in their genetic structure, immunotherapies create an alternative option to chemotherapy treatment which can have severe side effects, stating, "For example, in this type of bile duct cancer that is resistant to all chemotherapies, the cancer was seen to be almost completely eliminated."