Important achievements in the fight against cancer were presented during the annual conference of the European Society for Medical Oncology, which concluded yesterday, Tuesday, in Barcelona, including, for example, new groups of treatments and technologies based on artificial intelligence to provide personalized treatment for each patient.
Possibility of breastfeeding after breast cancer
Two global studies presented at this major meeting, which brought together more than 30,000 doctors and specialized researchers from around the world, found that women who breastfeed after receiving breast cancer treatment do not face an increased risk of developing the disease again.
This also applies to those who carry a genetic mutation that greatly increases the risk of developing this type of cancer.
In the past, there was concern about pregnancy and breastfeeding after the disease, because both cause changes in hormone levels.
“These results are essential for women who want to become pregnant and breastfeed after breast cancer,” says Federico Alessandro Peccatore, director of the reproductive medicine unit at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, and co-author of one of the studies.
Dual immunotherapy for lung cancer
In this type of cancer, immunotherapy – which involves stimulating the immune system to fight tumors – has already proven effective.
The results of a phase II study, presented last Saturday, showed promising results for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, a disease that affects more than 15,000 people annually in France.
The idea behind this treatment is to combine two immunotherapies, not just one, with chemotherapy. “By targeting a second target in the immune system and combining the two treatments, we are improving response rates, that is, the number of patients whose tumors go into remission,” says oncologist Nicolas Gérard, of the Institut Corrivier Paris.
Nearly eliminates a type of cancer linked to pregnancy
The combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy has shown excellent results against a very rare form of cancer associated with pregnancy (1 in 10,000 pregnancies), which develops from the placenta.
Thanks to the combination of the two treatments, 96% of cancer cases were eliminated in a group of patients, an “exceptional result,” according to oncologist Benoit You, who presented the study.
Artificial intelligence to provide personalized treatments for each patient
A “second-generation” AI-based model opens the door to future treatments.
This giant algorithm works based on a database of more than a billion tumor images from about 30,000 patients in the United States.
“A large-scale transformation” of this model is able to “detect a certain number of molecular abnormalities and mutations that the human eye cannot always see,” says Fabrice Andre, director of research at the French Gustave Roussy Cancer Center.
In the long term, doctors will rely on this AI-based assistance to provide personalized treatments for each patient.
Hopes to preserve damaged organs
Immunotherapy combined with preoperative radiotherapy improves global cure rates in an increasing number of cancers (including breast, bladder and cervical), is one of the key messages of the European Society for Medical Oncology Annual Congress.
Pre-operative treatments increasingly allow for “organ preservation” during cancer, says Andre, adding, “However, organ preservation is absolutely essential to have a quality of life as close to normal as possible.”
A study on Monday showed promising results regarding the ability to preserve the rectum after cancer affecting this part of the digestive system, once treatments lead to complete disappearance of the tumor.
“Until now, surgery has been the norm, but it seems we are entering a new era, which will make us avoid surgery,” says David Sebag Montefiore, an oncologist and professor at the University of Leeds in the UK.
This progress applies to other types of cancer, such as ear, nose and throat cancer, and lung cancer.