Cancer is a terrifying diagnosis. The second-leading cause of death in the United States drains $25 trillion a year from the global economy and causes pain beyond measure to patients and their loved ones. But as science and technology advance into realms once reserved for speculative fiction, researchers are finding new pathways for treating this age-old disease. Certain types are on the verge of elimination while others approach 100-percent survival rates, and 14 types of tumors could face new treatments this year. For the rest, hope stems from our ability to translate space-age ideas, nanoscale interventions and intricate molecular tools into practical tools for early detection and stealth treatments. Here’s the breakdown:
AI diagnostics
Early detection is still key, and artificial intelligence is making it happen faster than ever. One AI system based at Cambridge University used DNA data from The Cancer Genome Atlas to teach itself to identify early structures and pathways built by 13 types of cancer, which it can now identify with 98 percent accuracy. Another can screen breast cancer with 20 percent more accuracy than traditional methods. Machine learning could eventually detect hundreds of cancers.
Liquid biopsy
What if we could catch cancer with a standard blood panel? The Galleri test, available by prescription, measures loose DNA matter sloughed off from dead cancer cells and circulating in the bloodstream. Another method would screen plasma for low concentrations of 10 different proteins; still in trials, it has shown promise for identifying cancers that are still in Stage 1.
Juiced immunity
Doctors today can extract a patient’s T cells — white blood cells that fight infections directly — apply some scientific mumbo jumbo in a lab and reinject them like microscopic super soldiers that can overpower leukemia or lymphoma. In some cases, they use lab animals like mice as tiny factories to generate millions of monoclonal antibodies — targeting proteins specific to the cancer in question. Once injected into the patient, they flag tumors for destruction like flares in a war zone.
The jig is up
Like other cells in the body, cancer cells have their own defenses against potential threats like the human immune system. Some cancers, like melanoma or Hodgkin’s lymphoma, impersonate healthy cells, sending false signals that convince T cells to ignore them. A new class of drugs called checkpoint inhibitors blocks those false signals so T cells can see through the ruse and attack.
Mini is mighty
One way to get past cellular defenses is to use tiny nanoparticles, each one roughly one ten-millionth of an inch across, smaller than a wave of visible light. If a nanoparticle was a football, a red blood cell would be the size of a field. These little guys are so tough to spot, they’re a perfect method for delivering sneak attacks on lung cancer or melanoma, each unit carrying a dose of radiation, chemo or immunotherapy.
DNA origami
Just as it sounds, this process involves folding chromosomes two or three times to create a chamber of a certain shape, designed to masquerade as viral DNA. This disguise allows it to slip past a cancer cell’s security. Once inside, the chamber cracks open, dropping medication, self-assembling nanostructures, or instructions for neighboring cells that identify the cancer as a threat they should resist. First conceived in the 1980s, this treatment is now finally in testing.
A cancer jab?
Thirty years of cancer research into mRNA and genetic editing allowed scientists to quickly spin up the vaccines that targeted Covid-19. That process takes a cue from bacteria, which develop DNA sequences to conquer specific viruses. In the same way, mRNA molecules can be encoded with gene sequences that hypercharge the body’s immune response against specific tumor cells or even instruct the cancer cells to off themselves. One trial stopped tumor growth on the spot for eight of 16 patients.
This story appears in the January/February 2025 issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.