Do Individualized Treatments Offer Hope for Cancer?

In the past, when cancer treatment was mentioned, certain methods were applied to each patient. The partnership of developing technology and medical science can more clearly demonstrate the importance of personalized treatment approaches today. Medical Oncology specialists made statements on the occasion of World Cancer Day, pointing out that individualized treatments are applied with the principle of "there is no disease but the patient".

Cancer is one of the most important health problems of our age. Almost every day, a different innovation is mentioned in the treatment of these diseases. The most important topic of the last period is individualized, that is, personalized treatments... Yeditepe University Koşuyolu Hospital Medical Oncology Specialists, underlining that there is very rapid progress in medicine in general, said, “While what we learned might have been enough for us doctors for years in the past, the obligation to update ourselves has decreased to months and now to weeks.”

Success Increases as the Genetic Structure of the Tumor Is Solved

Now, in addition to the characteristics of the tumor under the microscope, its molecular genetic characteristics are also important in determining the appropriate treatment for the individual. In this way, survival rates can also increase. Stating, “In metastatic cancers, the remission, that is, the silencing phase of the disease, lasts so long that results close to complete healing can be obtained in the patient”, specialists gave the following example of individualized treatment: “Apart from lung cancer, molecular genetic studies in many different types of cancer can be examined to see whether the patient can benefit from chemotherapy and whether there are other treatments that can be given without being exposed to its side effects. In adenocarcinoma, one of the subgroups of lung cancer, disease-causing mutations are detected. Treatment is applied to these mutations. Therefore, when 10 patients with a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma come, some are given an oral tablet according to the characteristics of the tumor, and some are directly given systemic chemotherapy.”

It Can Prolong Survival

In the past, when people with lung cancer applied to health institutions at a late stage, patients could lose their lives due to shortness of breath when the existing treatments did not give sufficient results. However, specialists underlined that the rate of complaints such as shortness of breath and pain has decreased a lot, even though complete healing cannot be achieved with individualized treatment methods, and said, “There are two aspects of the applied treatment. While this is sometimes to provide healing, sometimes it is to control the disease and increase the comfort of the life of the person. Especially in lung cancers, we see that the life expectancy of patients is prolonged.”

More Successful Results Are Expected

It is thought that individualized treatment will become more appropriate in the future. For example, if a person has an infection, it is possible to understand which antibiotic the existing microorganism will respond to before starting antibiotic therapy... Today, however, this is not the case for chemotherapy drugs. Our specialists emphasized that in the future, before giving chemotherapy to the patient, it will be possible to understand whether the patient will benefit from it or what side effects will occur and to what extent.

Attempts to Reduce Side Effects

When it comes to individualized treatment, one of the first things that come to mind is smart medications! Yeditepe University Hospital Medical Oncology Specialists emphasized that these medications, which are considered one of the most promising developments of the last period, are expected not to affect healthy tissues other than tumors, and said, “The concept of smart medication taught us that medications should be smarter, more harmless, and more effective. Every day, the side effects of these new medications are reduced, and they are tried to be made perfect.”

Do not Be Afraid of Cancer and Get to Know It

It is thought that people apply to the doctor more out the fear of getting cancer. However, the surveys reveal a contradiction. Because is seen that many people delay applying to the doctor for the fear of being diagnosed with cancer, and they are late in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Stating that as a society we use the method of teaching by intimidation very often, but it is important to increase knowledge by eliminating fear, specialists said, “Information needs to be passed through a certain filter before being transferred to the society. Because even if it is not wrong, over-information can cause anxiety and fear, or confusion in society. For this reason, patients should apply directly to health institutions for information.”

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