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To reduce 3.2 million cancer deaths, the American Association for Cancer Research releases the 2021 anti-cancer progress report

 Last Update: 2021-10-19
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Yesterday, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2021

One of the earliest and largest scientific organizations in the world dedicated to comprehensive, innovative and high-level cancer research

Cancer challenges facing the world

According to estimates by the World Health Organization, cancer is the number one or second leading cause of death for people over 70 years old in 112 countries

Cancer is the leading or second leading cause of death among people over 70 years of age in 112 countries

▲Cancer is a global public health challenge (picture source: reference [1])

Early screening and diagnosis is expected to save patients' lives

Cancer is a progressive disease.

Early screening is expected to detect cancer at an early stage, so that corresponding intervention programs can be made

Detecting tumors in the early stages of cancer will greatly improve the survival of patients.

▲Early screening finds that cancer can be targeted for intervention according to the stage of cancer progression (picture source: reference [1])

At present, one of the important research and development directions in the field of early screening is to reduce the invasiveness of screening tests , which will reduce the possible damage to the screening population and increase the compliance rate of screening

One of the important research and development directions in the field of early screening is to reduce the invasive liquid biopsy for screening tests.

▲Screening methods that reduce the invasiveness of detection such as liquid biopsy are important research and development directions in the field of early screening (picture source: reference [1])

Transform scientific breakthroughs into life-saving treatments

With the joint efforts of all members of the biomedical research ecosystem, the development and approval of innovative therapies not only improved the quality of life of patients, but also prolonged their lives.

With 16 innovative anti-cancer therapies, 11 approved anti-cancer therapies also expanded the types of cancers they can treat

▲Innovative anti-cancer therapies approved by the FDA from August 2020 to July 2021 (picture source: reference [1])

Among them, the development of precision therapy is becoming an important direction for the development of anti-cancer therapy

The development of precision therapy is becoming an important direction in the development of anti-cancer therapy

Ten of the 16 new anti-cancer therapies approved by the FDA are precision therapies that target specific molecular or genetic mutations

▲The milestone of overcoming KRAS's non-medicability (picture source: reference [1])

In addition to Sotorasib, the FDA has approved a number of precision therapies that target specific protein kinase variants, including Rybrevant, Gavreto, Tempetko, and Truseltiq for EGFR, RET, MET, and FGFR2 gene variants

Another important research direction to accurately eliminate cancer cells while avoiding healthy tissues is antibody-conjugated drugs (ADC)

Another important research direction to accurately eliminate cancer cells and avoid affecting healthy tissues is antibody-conjugated drugs (ADC) targeting B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) Blenrep is a "first-in-class" antibody-conjugated drug , Treatment of multiple myeloma
.
Zynlonta, an antibody-conjugated drug targeting CD19, has also been approved by the FDA for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma
.

In addition, in January 2021, the FDA expanded the indications of ADC therapy Enhertu for the treatment of HER2-positive gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma
.
The range of use of Trodelvy, an antibody conjugate drug targeting Trop2, has also been expanded
.
These approvals reflect the accelerated innovation in the development of antibody-conjugated drugs, a unique targeted therapy field
.

▲Antibody-conjugated drugs that accurately deliver cytotoxins to cancer cells (picture source: reference [1])

The success of immunotherapy represented by immune checkpoint inhibitors in the past 10 years has made it one of the pillars of cancer treatment
.
One of the important advantages of this therapy is that it can be used to treat a variety of cancers
.
From August last year to July this year, important advances in realizing the potential of immune checkpoint inhibitors include: FDA approved the listing of a new immune checkpoint inhibitor Jemperli for the treatment of metastatic endometrial cancer .
During this time, the FDA has also expanded the indications of 4 approved immune checkpoint inhibitors .
As of July 31, 2021, there are already 18 different cancer types that can be treated with one or more immune checkpoint inhibitors .

The FDA approved the launch of a new immune checkpoint inhibitor Jemperli .
There are already 18 different cancer types that can be treated with one or more immune checkpoint inhibitors
.

▲18 different cancer types can be treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (picture source: reference [2])

Another way to use the human immune system to treat cancer is to transform the T cells in the immune system into a cellular weapon that kills cancer
.
In the past 12 months as of July this year, the FDA has approved two new CAR-T therapies.
Among them, the BCMA-targeted CAR-T therapy Abecma is the first CAR-T therapy approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma
.
Breyanzi, a CAR-T therapy targeting CD19, has also been approved for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma
.

Abecma is the first CAR-T therapy approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma

The third strategy to use the immune system to kill cancer cells uses antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), a class of drugs that help immune cells find and kill cancer cells
.
During the 12 months covered by this report, the FDA approved two therapies that use ADCC to destroy cancer cells .
They are the HER2-targeted monoclonal antibody Margenza (for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer) and the GD2-targeted monoclonal antibody.
Danyelza (used to treat neuroblastoma)
.

The continuous progress of these innovative therapies not only provides patients with more treatment options, but also significantly improves the survival rate of cancer patients
.
Take the common lung cancer as an example.
In the past 10 years, the treatment of lung cancer has undergone tremendous changes
.
In 2010, only three targeted therapies were approved to treat lung cancer, including two EGFR inhibitors (Iressa, Tarceva) and one angiogenesis inhibitor (Avastin)
.
As of the end of July this year, the number of targeted therapies and immunotherapies for the treatment of lung cancer has reached 30, a 10-fold increase compared to 2010! The 5-year survival rate of lung cancer patients increased from 12.
3% in 1975-1977 to 21.
7% in 2011-2017
.

In the past 10 years, the treatment of lung cancer has changed dramatically
.
As of the end of July this year, the number of targeted therapies and immunotherapies for the treatment of lung cancer has reached 30, a 10-fold increase compared to 2010! The 5-year survival rate of lung cancer patients increased from 12.
3% in 1975-1977 to 21.
7% in 2011-2017
.

▲Breakthroughs in lung cancer treatment in the past 50 years (picture source: reference [1])

Overall, advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment have led to a 31% decline
in cancer mortality in the United States from 1991 to 2018 .
This is equivalent to a reduction in the number of cancer deaths by 3.
2 million in the same period !

The cancer mortality rate dropped by 31% from 1991 to 2018
.
This is equivalent to a reduction in the number of cancer deaths by 3.
2 million in the same period !

Look to the future

The report pointed out that the development of a new generation of science and technology is comprehensively promoting the speed of cancer scientific research from laboratory to clinical practice
.
in:

Proteogenomics (proteogenomics) will be a new frontier in the research and development of precision anti-cancer medicine
.
Cancer genomics is already one of the cores of modern precision medicine.
However, changes at the DNA or RNA level cannot fully reveal the biological mechanisms behind cancer
.
Because genetic mutations cannot completely reliably predict functional changes at the protein level
.
Proteomics (a comprehensive analysis of all proteins in cells) is expected to add new powerful tools to cancer research, discovering insights that cannot be revealed by genomics alone
.
Proteomics, which combines proteomics and genomics, has great diagnostic and therapeutic potential
.

Proteogenomics will be the new frontier of precision anti-cancer medical research and development

Artificial intelligence will reshape the future of cancer science and medicine
.
The application of artificial intelligence in cancer science and medicine is rapidly expanding
.
It is expected to simplify the process of interpreting pathology or radiology images and help doctors make faster decisions
.
In terms of drug development, artificial intelligence has also penetrated into multiple steps of drug development
.

Artificial intelligence will reshape the future of cancer science and medicine

Image source: 123RF

The new wave of innovative swords refers to the most difficult targets in cancer
.
Although cancer treatment has made great progress, most of the current targeted therapies and immunotherapies are small molecule drugs or monoclonal antibodies
.
The number of targets they target is still limited
.
Many common gene mutations in cancer are still difficult to target, such as TP53.
RAS and MYC
.

A new wave of innovative swords points to the most difficult targets in cancer

With the innovation of science and technology, researchers are developing new strategies to target these difficult-to-target protein targets
.
For example, bispecific antibodies can recruit immune cells to the vicinity of tumor cells and use immune cells to destroy cancer cells that express difficult-to-target proteins
.
In two studies published in Science and Science Immunology in March this year, researchers used bispecific antibodies to successfully target RAS and p53 protein mutants , significantly reducing the size of tumors in mouse models
.

Bispecific antibodies can recruit immune cells to the vicinity of tumor cells and use immune cells to destroy cancer cells that express difficult-to-target proteins
.
Bispecific antibodies successfully target RAS and p53 protein mutants

Another innovative strategy highlighted in the report is targeted protein degradation therapy .
This bifunctional molecule can label disease-causing proteins with a "recycling" label and guide them to be degraded by the proteasome in the cell
.
Because their mode of action is to degrade disease-causing proteins rather than inhibit the activity of disease-causing proteins, such molecules may overcome resistance to existing therapies
.
Moreover, a protein-degrading molecule can be reused to induce the degradation of multiple pathogenic proteins, so it may have an effective anti-cancer effect at a smaller dose
.

Targeted protein degradation therapy such molecules may overcome resistance to existing therapies and may produce effective anti-cancer effects at smaller doses
.

Dr.
David A.
Tuveson, President of AACR, said that he is full of hope for the future because he believes that through innovation and collaborative research, we can promote more anti-cancer progress
.
A new generation of scientific and technological innovation will have the potential to transform cancer research and patient treatment
.

This year's 2021 anti-cancer progress report is 202 pages long, and it also introduces various aspects such as cancer prevention and cancer survivor care
.
Due to space limitations, this article cannot be detailed one by one.
Click "Read more" at the end of the article to visit the official website of the Anti-Cancer Progress Report to browse more content
.

Click "Read more" at the end of the article to visit the official website of the anti-cancer progress report to browse more content
.

Reference materials:

[1] AACR Cancer Progress Report.
Retrieved October 14.
2021.
from https://cancerprogressreport.
aacr.
org/progress/

[2] AACR Cancer Progress Report highlights how discovery science is driving clinical breakthroughs.
Retrieved October 14.
2021.
from https:// AACR Cancer Progress Report highlights how discovery science is driving clinical breakthroughs.
Retrieved October 14.
2021.
from https://

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