2014 and 2015 have brought some exciting advances in cancer. Below are four of the most significant areas of improvement surrounding this disease, bringing us a little closer to helping treat and prevent it. Alternative medicine provider in Orlando, Cellular Health Institute, highlights these four areas below.

• Change in How Cancer is Viewed: Scientists at the Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network discovered that tumors from different organs, for example, the lung and breast, frequently shared the same DNA mutations. This has led to looking at DNA mutations to guide cancer treatment, rather than treating based where a tumor originated.

• Cancer Prevention: Many advances have been seen in cancer prevention as well, particularly regarding a potentially more effective way to prevent breast cancer. An international study from the United Kingdom and Austria showed ovarian suppression, combined with anastrazole, an anti-estrogen pill, reduced breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women. Additional studies are needed to prove that there is a long-term benefit, but the results of this study are promising.

• Personalized Cancer Care: We are seeing genetic information of a patient’s disease being used to personally tailor treatment, positively changing the past approach to cancer care. In line with this personalized approach, trials will shift from large ones to smaller ones that segregate patients based on biomarkers and other more personalized factors.

• Liquid Biopsies: Cancer has traditionally been diagnosed using tissue biopsies, which is often an invasive procedure. Circulating tumor cells in the blood that can be extracted (and the tumor DNA analyzed) from a simple blood draw  – a “liquid biopsy” – have been discovered. This method of diagnosis will bring improvement in detecting and monitoring cancer.

While we still have a long way to go in cancer research that will hopefully lead to finding a cure sooner than later, these are certainly wonderful improvements that can’t be ignored and give us hope for the future.
Give our alternative medicine clinic in Orlando a call at (407) 862-2287, or contact us online to discuss how you can get on the path to total wellness and live your healthiest life.