What’s on the Horizon?
Looking Toward the
Future of Cancer Care
Cancer impacts all of us. Whether
you’re a physician whose mission
it is to care for people with
this disease, or you or a loved
one have experienced a cancer diagnosis,
you understand the toll that cancer takes.
Nearly 1.9 million new cancer cases are
expected to be diagnosed in 2021, according
to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
But one of the most valuable – and
dare we say, life-giving – parts of our jobs
as physicians is to offer real hope to our
patients fighting this complicated disease.
After all, more than 16.9 million Americans
with a history of invasive cancer were alive
as of early 2019, the ACS also reports.
These patients currently have no trace of
the disease in their body. While this news is
encouraging, there is progress to be made
in early cancer detection and treatment.
As we look toward the future of cancer
care, many new breakthroughs in cancer
therapy, screenings, and clinical trials are
changing the way we diagnose and treat
cancer – ultimately helping our patients
live longer, healthier lives. But what
advancements, specifically, will have an
impact on not only the detection of cancer
and survival rate in our patients but their
well-being during and after treatment? We
see much progress – and potential – in the
innovations described below.
The New Era of
Radiopharmaceuticals
For more than 100 years, radiation
therapy has been a common and effective
cancer treatment. While successful at
destroying cancer cells, we know traditional
6 DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL • October 2021
radiation therapy can damage healthy cells
and deal out a host of side effects.
An emerging form of radiation therapy,
radiopharmaceuticals deliver radiation
specifically to cancer cells in the body
while preserving more of the healthy tissue
around them. Delivered via IV, radiopharmaceuticals
are designed to track and
“stick” to a cancer cell. Once this happens,
the radioactive compound breaks
down on its own, then releases energy to
the DNA of the nearby cells, thus killing
that cancer cell. The ability for a single
radiopharmaceutical to stick to a cancer
cell and kill other cancerous cells around
it means less radiation is needed in the
body, which greatly benefits the patient.
Researchers are gaining more understanding
of how radiopharmaceuticals
could target specific cancers. In 2018,
the FDA approved the use of lutetium Lu
177-dotatate, a radiopharmaceutical, for
the treatment of certain neuroendocrine
tumors affecting the pancreas or digestive
tract. Research released at the American
Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual
meeting this year found that radiopharmaceuticals
could help men with advanced
prostate cancer live longer than those who
only receive the standard of care. Also,
studies have shown that the use of immunotherapy
combined with radiopharmaceuticals
has the potential to improve the way
tumors respond to certain drugs.
Emerging Methods of
Cancer Screening
Screenings are the most effective
way to identify cancers in their earliest
HOUSE CALL
By Scott Cheek, MD, radiation
oncologist, and Scott Paulson,
MD, medical onzcologist, both of
Texas Oncology–Baylor Charles
A. Sammons Cancer Center
As we look toward the
future of cancer care,
many new breakthroughs
in cancer therapy,
screenings, and clinical
trials are changing the
way we diagnose and
treat cancer – ultimately
helping our patients live
longer, healthier lives.