The development of technology in the past few years has benefitted medical researchers all over the world in their pursuit of more effective treatments for cancer.
From formulating improved diagnosis and staging strategies to producing successful targeted therapies, health experts just might be inching closer to unlocking the secret to curing the disease, in particular lung cancer.
Oncologists, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare professionals will convene at the 16th Annual International Lung Cancer (ILC) Conference in California this July to discuss various matters on how to treat patients with lung cancer.
The conference will focus on key topics that will help researchers develop treatment strategies, such as molecular testing, disease staging and personalized therapy. It will also feature clinical research from cooperative groups in different regions of the world, including Asia, Europe and the United States.
Dr. David R. Gandara of the University of California (UC) Davis Health System will head the session on diagnostics and staging, which will feature a presentation by Dr. Friedrich D. Knollmann on processes involving diagnostics, staging, and functional imaging and volumetric assessment.
Dr. Ken Y. Yoneda of UC Davis is also set to discuss how to optimize diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer using techniques that utilize endobronchial and other interventional pulmonology.
A separate session discussing early-stage thoracic malignancies will be chaired by thoracic surgeon Dr. Harvey I. Pass of New York University's Langone Medical Center. It will feature Dr. Karen Kelly's presentation on adjuvant therapy regarding non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The ILC gathering will also have discussions on crucial advancements in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and NSCLC research. Participants are set to take part in a workshop about next-generation lung cancer agents, with an overview on targeted therapies aimed at combating various cancer-causing genes called oncogenes.
A presentation on novel lung cancer interventions, such as HSP90 inhibitors and immunotherapies against anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) agents, will also be given during the conference.
Dr. Fred R. Hirsch of the University of Colorado's School of Medicine will lead the session on guidelines for molecular testing in lung cancer. This will include techniques in using antiangiogenic agents and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFRs) inhibitors, and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors.
Other Advancements in Cancer Research
While not a main point of discussion for the upcoming ILC conference, another important development in the field of cancer study is the use of IBM's Watson in analyzing research data.
According to its developers, Watson is a computing system designed for question answering (QA) using natural language. It has been used to process a database of online culinary recipes as well as organize a business meeting efficiently.
The next task for the IBM supercomputer is to help oncologists analyze large volumes of data used in cancer research, such as DNA sequences and cancer mutations, so that they can determine which specific drug to use for treatment.
Cuban scientists have also contributed in lung cancer study with the development of the vaccine Cimavax.
Health experts in the Caribbean country said the drug is capable of extending the life expectancy of cancer patients by four to six months.
The American research group Roswell Park Cancer Institute has secured the rights to bring Cimavax to the U.S. Roswell said the vaccine is being tested in preparation for its release.
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