When will a cure for cancer be invented? Cancer vaccine - latest news. Are there any side effects to the new drug?

That the Nobel Prize was awarded to two scientists who made a discovery that led to a revolution in the treatment of cancer. The development of new types of therapy takes decades, and complex terminology is not always clear to the general public - and the question hangs in the air whether an effective cure for cancer has yet been found. Let's figure out why there cannot be one cure for all types of tumors and how far oncology has already advanced from traditional chemotherapy.

Why cancer is not just one disease

Malignant tumors can develop from a variety of cells - from the epithelium of the skin to cells of muscle, bone or the nervous system - and arise in a wide variety of places in the body. Basic knowledge of where the tumor originated and what it consisted of only allowed doctors to better plan operations - but it was unclear why in some cases the cancer leads to rapid death, in others it is effectively cured, and in others it seems to disappear, but after in a few years it may return with renewed vigor.

Now the molecular mechanisms of tumor development are being studied more and more deeply - and it is already clear that it is impossible to classify them only by localization, stage and tissue. If breast cancer was previously considered one disease, it is now clear that it can be different - and the possibilities of treatment and the likely outcome depend on what receptors are on the tumor cells. The study of how cancer develops is far from complete - it seems that the principle “the more we know, the more we don’t know” works here like nowhere else. In addition, advanced, metastatic tumors remain a special problem - they are much more difficult to treat than those detected in the early stages. But in the treatment of some types of cancer, a revolution has nevertheless occurred.

What is the problem with chemotherapy and radiation therapy?

Chemotherapy is the administration of cytotoxic (that is, toxic to cells) substances, most often drugs are administered intravenously. They are designed to destroy rapidly dividing cells - and in addition to tumor cells, they also “get” other tissues, where they quickly multiply. These are the skin, mucous membranes and bone marrow where blood cells are formed - so typical side effects of chemotherapy include hair loss, stomatitis, intestinal problems, anemia.

With radiation therapy, the area where the tumor is located (or where it used to be if it was removed surgically) is exposed to powerful radiation. This treatment may be given before surgery to shrink the tumor so it can be removed more easily, or after surgery in an attempt to destroy any remaining cancer cells. The main problems of radiation therapy are the same as those of “chemistry”: firstly, even with the use of modern devices and techniques, it is impossible to completely protect healthy tissues from aggressive effects, and secondly, cancer mortality remains very high.

What is treated with hormone therapy?

Hormone therapy for cancer was mentioned by Solzhenitsyn in his book “Cancer Ward,” where it was said that female or male hormones are administered to treat certain tumors. Tumors whose growth depends on the influence of hormones really do exist - and for the best effect it is important to eliminate this influence. True, it is not hormones that are used for this, but their antagonists - agents that suppress the synthesis of certain hormones or change the sensitivity of receptors to these hormones on cells.

This therapy is actively used for breast cancer in postmenopausal women or, for example, for prostate cancer in men. Breast cancer cells are often hormone sensitive, meaning they contain receptors that recognize estrogen, progesterone, or both. The presence of such receptors can be detected during a special analysis - and after this, medications can be prescribed that will block the receptors, preventing hormones from stimulating tumor regrowth.

When do stem cells really work?

Stem cells are often talked about either in the context of dubious rejuvenation procedures (we already know why plant stem cells are added to creams), or within the framework of scientific achievements with loud headlines like “scientists grew teeth from stem cells”, but, unfortunately, there is still little practical value. But for malignant tumors of the bone marrow and blood, stem cells are used quite successfully.

For some types of leukemia and multiple myeloma, stem cell transplantation is an important component of treatment. High doses of chemotherapy destroy not only malignant blood cells, but also normal cells and their precursors - which means that the blood will simply be devoid of cells and will not be able to perform its tasks. Therefore, after chemotherapy, a transplantation is performed - the patient is given his own (obtained in advance) or donor stem cells. Of course, this method is not without problems - it is difficult to tolerate and is not suitable for all patients. Considering that multiple myeloma is considered a disease of older people (it usually occurs after 65-70 years), for many patients treatment options are very limited.

What is targeted therapy

The further oncology science develops, the more opportunities there are to target drugs with targeted effects (target in English) - and not on the entire body, as happens with chemotherapy. Some tumors are characterized by mutations of specific, already known genes, leading, for example, to the production of large quantities of some abnormal protein - and this helps the tumor grow and spread. For example, if a mutation of the EGFR gene is detected in lung cancer and a lot of protein with the same name is produced, then the tumor can be fought not only with classical methods such as chemotherapy, but also with EGFR inhibitors.

Now there are drugs that are active against mutations of various genes characteristic of certain types of cancer. Patients are tested for these mutations to determine whether the therapy makes sense: it is expensive and works well when there is a target for it in the body, but is useless if there is no target. Targeted drugs also include drugs that block angiogenesis, that is, the formation of new blood vessels that feed the tumor. Hormonal and immunotherapeutic agents can theoretically also be classified as targeted - they act on specific targets, but for practical convenience they are usually classified into separate groups.

Why was the Nobel Prize given?

Immunity is a powerful and complex system that not only helps heal wounds or fight colds. Every day, mutations arise that can cause a cell to divide uncontrollably and become malignant; The immune system destroys such defective cells, protecting us from cancer. At some point, the balance may be disrupted, and this is not due to “reduced immunity,” but to special mechanisms by which tumor cells “escape” the immune response. The discovery of these mechanisms was the reason for the Nobel Prize of James Allison and Tasuku Honjo - it formed the basis of immunotherapy, a new approach to treating cancer.

The essence of immunotherapy is to force the immune system to independently attack and destroy malignant cells. Several drugs from this group have already been registered in different countries, and many more are in development. Ellison and Honjo discovered immune checkpoints, molecules that cancer cells use to suppress the immune response. Drugs that suppress these molecules (called immune checkpoint inhibitors) became available, and a revolution occurred in oncology. For example, with melanoma (a disease with a previously 100 percent mortality rate), some patients were able to eliminate all signs of the disease - and these people have been alive for ten years.

Some of these drugs act on mechanisms characteristic of a wide variety of malignant processes. For example, pembrolizumab is registered for the treatment of many tumors, provided that they have a certain molecular feature associated with impaired DNA repair and an increased susceptibility to mutations. Other drugs are used for one or two types of cancer - it all depends on the molecular target that can be targeted by drug antibodies. Finally, the most complex immunotherapeutic method is CAR-T, in which human immune cells are “trained” to attack the tumor. The method has already been registered for the treatment of acute leukemia in children; due to its complexity and novelty, the cost of treating one person can reach half a million dollars.

MOSCOW, August 25 - RIA Novosti, Alfiya Enikeeva.“Scientists promise to cure cancer with one injection”, “A new cure for cancer has been discovered”, “A universal cure for malignant tumors has been found” - such headlines appear in the media almost every week. However, doctors rely on long-tested methods: surgical removal of the tumor, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Almost all cancers are incurable. RIA Novosti finds out where sensational developments disappear and when science will defeat cancer.

Slow, expensive

Last July, Science magazine published a report that caused a lot of noise in the scientific world: as a result of testing a new anti-cancer drug, two dozen people were completely cured of cancer. All of them had different organs affected - the uterus, stomach, prostate, thyroid gland.

The only thing the patients had in common was that their tumors did not respond to standard treatment due to rare mutations in the genome. After taking the new drug, a monoclonal antibody that helps the immune system attack disease, 66 of the 86 study participants felt better. Their tumors significantly decreased in size and stabilized, stopping growth. Eighteen patients were even luckier: the cancer left them forever.

And although testing took place in a reduced form, without the mandatory control group taking a placebo in such cases, a year later the FDA, the main drug regulator in the United States, recommended it for the treatment of several types of cancer in children and adults. According to experts, the speed with which the recommendation was made is unprecedented, and the state could make such concessions only if the development really turned out to be breakthrough.

© Science

In fact, this story is almost 11 years old, because pembrolizumab (that was the name of the new drug) was created by Gregory Curven, Hans van Eenennaam and John Dulos in 2007. Trials began only in 2013, and since 2018, patients suffering from aggressive types of cancer that do not respond to standard therapy could count on treatment. Of course, these are wealthy people: one course costs about 150 thousand dollars.

Long journey from laboratory to patient

“This is a long and difficult path: from idea to patient. All promising molecules are first tested on animals, then undergo studies involving 10-20 patients, then their number grows, counting into thousands. The drug moves to each next stage only if it demonstrates effectiveness and safety on the previous one. It takes years, but protects patients from unpleasant consequences," says Marina Sekacheva, head of the Center for Personalized Oncology, professor of the Department of Oncology at the First Moscow State Medical University. I. M. Sechenov.

At each of these stages, the drug may be rejected due to zero effectiveness or - even worse - negative effects on the patient's body. For example, in 2017, during a clinical trial of a CAR-T drug, one of the study participants died. Despite the therapy’s effectiveness in treating multiple myeloma and leukemia, which had been proven several months earlier, the experiment was immediately stopped.

A similar story happened with the innovative ROCKET cancer treatment method. A phase 2 clinical trial tested the efficacy and safety of JCAR015, a biologic for the treatment of relapsed or treatment-resistant B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In July 2016, testing was suspended for two months due to the deaths of three patients. A year later, the study of the drug was abandoned altogether, as two more study participants died from the same cause - cerebral edema.

How to make your immune system work

CAR technology involves injecting the patient with his own genetically modified T-lymphocytes. In this way, the patient’s immunity is connected to treatment. Immune cells recognize the tumor and attack it. Despite the first negative results, research in this direction has been approved in some countries.

“The last five years in oncology have been a triumph of immuno-oncological drugs, which make the tumor accessible to the patient’s own immune system. And we are still in the process of actively studying these drugs: selecting the optimal combination, timing of administration, sequence; looking at how they affect surgical results.” ,” Marina Sekacheva clarifies.

One in six dies from cancer

The annual economic cost of cancer is estimated to reach a trillion dollars. Billions are spent year after year on drug development. However, despite all efforts, it is not possible to say that cancer will be defeated in the near future.

© Pathogen-Associated Malignancies Integrated Research Center, Fred Hutch

“Unfortunately, humanity has not yet invented many drugs that can achieve a complete cure for one or another illness - this mainly concerns infections. In most cases, we only manage to transfer the disease from fatal or painful to chronic and without pronounced symptoms. This the trend can also be seen in oncology. In the rarest cases, drug antitumor therapy leads to a complete cure, but there are more and more examples when it is possible to transform cancer into a long, sluggish process. For example, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, breast or prostate cancer. We every day (without exaggeration) We are discovering the molecular features of malignant neoplasms, and this allows us to find new ways to treat them,” the oncologist sums up.

L Antineoplastic drugs and immunomodulators

Indications for use

We will not delve into the details of the biochemical processes that determine the pharmacodynamics of anticancer drugs: the indications for the use of each of them are approved by clinical protocols for chemotherapy for each type of tumor - taking into account the stage of the disease, the presence of metastases and the individual characteristics of the individual patient.

Main names of cancer drugs

It is impossible to list all the names of anticancer drugs currently being produced: almost fifty drugs can be used to treat breast cancer alone. The release form of most antitumor drugs is a lyophilisate (in vials) for the preparation of an infusion solution or a ready-made solution (in ampoules) for parenteral use. Some enzyme inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents are available in tablets and capsules.

Chemotherapy protocols include:

• medicine for lung cancer: Cyclophosphamide (Cyclophosphamide, Cytoxan, Endoscan), Ifosfamide, Gemcitabine (Gemzar, Cytogem), Hydroxycarbamide;
• medicine for stomach cancer: Etoposide (Epipodophyllotoxin), Bortezomib (Velcade), Ftorafur (Ftorouracil, Tegafur, Sinoflurol), Methotrexate (Evetrex);
• medications for pancreatic cancer: Streptozocin, Ifosfamide, Imatinib (Gleevec), Ftorafur, Gemcitabine;
• medications for liver cancer: Cisplatin (Platinotin), Doxorubicin (Rastocin, Syndroxocin), Sorafenib (Nescavar), Everolimus (Afinitor), Ftorafur;
• medicine for kidney cancer: Dacarbazine, Fluorouracil, Cisplatin, Imatinib, Sunitinib, Gemcitabine;
• medicine for esophageal cancer: Vincristine, Doxorubicin, Fluorouracil, Paclitaxel, Imatinib;
• medicine for colon cancer: Leucovorin, Capecitabine, Oxaliplatin (Carboplatin, Medaxa, Cytoplatin), Irinotecan, Bevacizumab, Cetuximab (Erbitux);
• medicine for squamous cell carcinoma: Cisplatin, Etoposide, Ifosfamide, Doxorubicin, Dacarbazine;
• medicine for throat cancer: Cabroplatin, Cyclophosphamide, Dacarbazine, Cetuximab;
• medications for breast cancer: Pertuzumab (Pierrette), Paclitaxel, Goserelin, Thiotepa, Tamoxifen, Letromara, Methotrexate, Epirubicin, Trastuzumab;
• medicine for uterine cancer: Chlorambucil, Cyclophosphamide (Endoxan), Dacarbazine, Methotrexate;
• medicines for cervical cancer: Cyclophosphamide, Ifosfamide, Pertuzumab (Pierrette), Xeloda;
• medications for ovarian cancer (carcinoma): Cisplatin, Cytoforsphan, Melphalan, Fluorouracil, Chlorambucil;
• medicines for bone cancer (osteogenic sarcoma): Ifosfamide, Kabroplatin, Cyclophosphamide;
• medicine for blood cancer (acute leukemia): Cytarabine, Ibrutinib, Doxorubicin, Idarubicin (Zavedox), Fludarabine;
• medications for cancer of the lymphatic system (lymphomas): Bleomycin, Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, Etoposide, Alemtuzumab, Rituximab (Redditux, Rituxan);
• medicine for skin cancer: Fluorouracil, Melphalan, Gliozomid, Demecolcine;
• drugs for brain cancer (gliomas, glioblastomas, meningiomas, etc.): Bevacizumab, Temozolomide (Temodal), Procarbazine, Vincristine, Cyclophosphamide;
• medicine for bladder cancer: Cyclophosphamide, Gemcitabine, Cisplatin, Carboplatin, Methotrexate;
• medications for prostate cancer (prostate adenocarcinoma): Bicalutamide (Casodex), Fluorouracil, Triptorelin (Diferelin), Leuprorelin, Degarelix (Firmagon), Flutamide.

Cancer cure from Germany

Anti-cancer drugs (Gemzar, Alkeran, Crizotinib, Holoxan, Oxaliplatin, etc.) are produced by many German pharmaceutical companies, including such well-known ones as Bayer and Merck.

Cancer cure from Germany Nexavar, manufactured by Bayer AG, is used to treat inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma and thyroid cancer.

The company produces the protein kinase inhibitor Stivagra (Regorafenib), for the treatment of colorectal cancer, and the radiopharmaceutical Xofigo, used to treat metastatic bone cancer.

Merck releases experimental cancer drug Vorinostat or Zolinza, which is used for advanced, chemotherapy-resistant cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (FDA approved in 2006). The active ingredient of the drug is suberoylanilide-hydroxamic acid (SAHA), which inhibits histone deacetylases (HDAC). Clinical trials of this drug are ongoing and have shown activity against recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (brain tumor) and non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Cure for cancer in Israel

Numerous cancer centers can provide any cancer treatment in Israel, as well as to patients outside the country.

One of the newest drugs used by Israeli oncologists for targeted therapy of advanced melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer and renal carcinoma is Opdivo(Opdivo) or Nivolumab (Nivolumab) - belongs to a new pharmacological group of PD-1 receptor blockers. The medicine was developed by the American biopharmaceutical company Medarex and Ono Pharmaceutical (Japan), manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb (USA); FDA approved in 2014.

Cellular apoptosis receptor-1 (PD-1) is a member of the CD28 receptor membrane protein superfamily that plays a critical regulatory role in immune T cell activation and tolerance and tissue protection from autoimmune attack. Moreover, when activated during chronic infections and malignant tumors, this receptor and its ligands weaken the body’s defenses. Blocking PD-1 allows the immune system to attack cancer cells. Trials of Opdivo demonstrated its effectiveness in the treatment of advanced squamous cell lung cancer with metastases.

Recently, Russian media announced the development and decision to produce PD 1 medicine, which, according to the head of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, “is capable of completely curing cancer diseases that were previously untreatable.”

American cures for cancer

More than ten years ago, the American pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb began developing an experimental cancer drug Tanespimycin(Tanespimycin, 17-AAG) is a derivative of the polyketide antibiotic Geldanamycin, the use of which has been studied for the treatment of leukemia, multiple myeloma and kidney tumors. The drug acts by inhibiting the intracellular stress protein - heat shock protein (HSP) or chaperone, which performs regenerative functions and prevents apoptosis.

Proteins that are produced by cells during stress conditions (necrosis, tissue destruction or lysis) were discovered in the early 1960s. Italian geneticist Ferruccio Ritossa. Over time, it turned out that HSPs are activated in cancer cells and increase their survival. The heat shock transcription factor (HSF1), which regulates the expression of genes for this protein, was also discovered. Experts from the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have proven that HSF1 coordinates the induction of chaperones and is a multifaceted factor in carcinogenesis, and deactivation of this factor stops tumor growth. Drugs that block heat shock protein are classified as proteasome or proteolysis inhibitors.

When Bristol-Myers Squibb withdrew Tanespimycin, a new American drug for breast cancer, lung carcinoma and angiosarcoma - Triolimus– the newly formed company Co-D Therapeutics, Inc. began producing. This medicine contains nanotechnology-based polymer micelles that allow the delivery of several anticancer agents, in particular Paclitaxel, Rapamycin and Tanespimycin, in one preparation.

By the way, Bristol-Myers Squibb has also been producing a nanocure for cancer since 2006 Sprycel(Dasatinib), which belongs to the group of tyrosine kinase enzyme inhibitors and is intended for the treatment of lymphoblastic leukemia and metastatic skin cancer.

Nanomolar concentrations of the drug act specifically and suppress the growth of only tumor cells.

But let's return to chaperones. In the spring of 2017, reports appeared that a unique Russian medicine for cancer of any type had been developed and tested on laboratory rats at the FMBA Research Institute of High Purity Drugs (Research Institute of Highly Pure Drugs under the Federal Medical and Biological Agency). Its basis is heat shock protein, which, according to the authors of the publication, has an antitumor effect...

Russian cure for cancer

For complex therapy of breast cancer, the Russian cancer medicine Refnot is proposed, in which the active components are genetically modified cytokines – TNFα(tumor necrosis factor-alpha) and thymosin alpha-1 (lymphocyte growth and T-cell differentiation factor). It should be noted that the individual drug Thymosin-alpha belongs to the pharmacological group of immunostimulants.

BIOCAD company (Russian Federation) produces anti-cancer monoclonal antibodies Acellbia(Rituximab), Bevacizumab and BCD-100, as well as an antimetabolite Gemcytar(Gemcitabine) and proteasome inhibitor Bortezomib.

The last drug under the names Amilan-FS and Boramilan-FS is produced by the F-Sintez company; entitled Boramilan Nativa company; The trade name Bortezol was assigned to this medicine by the Pharmasyntez company, and two more Russian companies produce Bortezomib under the name Milatib.

Finnish cures for cancer

Finland is considered one of the leading countries in the field of cancer research and treatment. According to the EUROCARE-5 study on cancer survival in Europe, Finland is recognized as the best European country in the treatment of breast and head and neck cancer, third in the treatment of prostate cancer and fourth in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Antiestrogenic drug Fareston for breast cancer in women during menopause is produced by the Finnish company Orion Pharma. It also produces an anti-hormonal drug for prostate cancer. Flutamide.

The Institute of Molecular Medicine of the University of Helsinki, together with the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, is beginning to develop new targeted anticancer drugs for the treatment of leukemia.

Indian cure for cancer

Can be used in the complex treatment of malignant tumors of the gastrointestinal tract Suprapol(manufactured by Glerma Pharmaceuticals, India).

This Indian cancer medicine consists of the antimetabolite fluorouracil and fulvic (humic) acid, which has a number of biological inhibitory properties, exhibits adaptogenic and anabolic qualities, and promotes detoxification of the body.

In the last two decades, the antiproliferative and antitumor properties of humic fulvic acids in cancer of the liver and other organs have been intensively studied abroad. Thus, in 2004, a group of scientists from China Medical University (Taiwan) found that humic acid induces apoptosis of HL-60 cells in promyelocytic leukemia. By the way, a patent for the invention of a method for producing modified fulvic acid for the preparation of anticancer drugs was issued in 2008, also in China.

Chinese medicines for cancer

Many Chinese medicines for cancer are of plant origin, and the drug is no exception Kanglait– an extract from grains of pearl barley or common beadgrass. This cereal, a relative of corn that grows in Southeast Asia, is also called Job's tears (Latin: Coix lacryma-jobi). Along with other herbs, it has always been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a diuretic, analgesic and antispasmodic.

In the middle of the last century, the Japanese were studying pearl barley, and a more detailed study of its properties was carried out by scientists from the University of Zhejiang Province

It was prompted by the fact that among residents of southeastern China, whose diet contains this cereal, cancer incidence rates are the lowest in the country.

The drug Kanglaite for parenteral use is an emulsion of lipids extracted from plant grains - a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The drug has undergone laboratory studies and clinical trials in medical institutions in China, proving its effectiveness against lung carcinoma, as well as tumors of the breast, stomach and liver.

The description of the action of this drug notes its ability to slow down the mitosis of cancer cells and the formation of blood vessels in tumor tissues.

Cuban cure for cancer

According to Expert Revue Vaccines, the new Cuban cancer drug CIMAvax-EGF - Cymavax(based on the molecular complex of epidermal growth factor EGF) is declared as a therapeutic antitumor vaccine for progressive, chemotherapy-resistant non-small cell lung cancer (as an adjuvant).

Five clinical trials and two randomized studies found that four doses of Civamax increased patient survival. The safety of this drug was also confirmed.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry reports cancer drug trials are currently underway CIMAvax-EGF– in order to test EGF as a prognostic biomarker of the effectiveness of this drug.

Kazakh medicine for cancer Arglabin

The immunomodulatory drug of plant origin Arglabin - for parenteral use after radiation or chemotherapy of oncological diseases of the mammary glands, ovaries, lungs and liver - is produced in Kazakhstan.

The destruction of cancer cells and the enhancement of the bioeffects of radiation therapy is ensured by the arglabin compound dimetholamine, isolated from the plant Artemisia glabella (smooth wormwood), which is a registered antitumor substance in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Researchers at the International Graduate School of Molecular Medicine at the University of Ulm (Germany) are studying the antitumor potential of arglabin using prostate carcinoma cell lines. It has been proven in vivo that this substance can selectively inhibit the proliferation and reduce the viability of PC-3 prostate tumor cells, as well as initiate their apoptosis by activating cysteine ​​proteases (which leads to damage to the cell membrane and DNA fragmentation).

And at the research center of Wageningen University (Netherlands) they have developed a new method for obtaining arglabin from wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), and from tansy (Tanacetum parthenium) another compound with anti-cancer activity - parphenolide.

Ukrainian cure for cancer

An antitumor agent of Ukrainian development, created at the Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine - nano cure for cancer breast Ferroplat (alkylating cytostatic Cisplatin + magnetized iron in the form of nanoparticles). Preclinical studies are currently ongoing.

How to get into cancer drug trials on cancer patients? When the drug is ready (passes all the required checks and registration of all required documents), the Ministry of Health of Ukraine will prepare and publish on its official website a corresponding order indicating the medical institutions selected for clinical trials of this drug and the conditions for its potential participants (who have a suitable drug diagnosis and a detailed medical history with a full description of the treatment and its results).

By joint efforts, scientists from the National Antarctic Scientific Center and the Institute of Biology and Medicine of the KNU named after KNU are striving to create a Ukrainian cure for cancer. Shevchenko. During the Antarctic expeditions 2013-2015. At the Academician Vernadsky station, microorganisms living on soil, mosses and lichens, adapted to low temperatures, were studied as potential sources of compounds with biologically active properties. And among the cultures of micromycetes and bacteria discovered by microbiologists (more than three dozen in total), suitable “candidates” were found. According to the Ukrainian Antactic Journal, these are microscopic helocial fungi of the genus Pseudogymnoascus pannorum (surviving in the cold due to the accumulation of lipids in cell membranes) and the zygomycete Mucor circinelloides (known for its ability to undergo genetic transformations).

What is a digital cure for cancer?

It is an experimental cancer drug created using computer technology to integrate and correlate complex sets of molecular, biochemical and clinical data that represent the disease from all angles. In addition, the drug development cycle is reduced several times.

BERG Health, a biotechnology company, has created a computer program (Interrogative Biology AI platform) to develop cancer drugs using artificial intelligence. One drug in particular, BPM 31510, has entered phase 2 trials to study its effectiveness in treating pancreatic cancer.

Another digital cancer drug is the new drug BPM 31510-IV for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (a type of brain cancer). To clarify its exact mechanism of action, the drug will be tested in patients whose standard treatment is with recombinant monoclonal antibodies, in particular Bevacizumab.

Many IT specialists predict that the Interrogative Biology AI platform can make a revolutionary breakthrough in the pharmaceutical industry.

Does vitamin 17 exist?

Vitamin 17, other names – Laetrile, Letril, Amygdalin, was produced in the USA and was touted as a cure for cancer. In fact, liquid Laetrile B 17 was part of the Budwig diet for cancer patients (discussed below) - as a dietary supplement.

After repeated cases of Laetrile poisoning of Americans, the FDA began cracking down on "natural medicine" clinics that used the drug. In late 2012, experts from the American Cancer Society stated that (we quote) “existing scientific evidence does not support claims that Laetrile or Amygdalin are effective in treating cancer.”

Medicines not related to anticancer drugs

Excipients that are proposed for use in combination therapy of oncological diseases do not apply to antitumor drugs:

Timalin (bovine thymus gland extract) can be used to maintain immunity during long-term use of antibacterial drugs, courses of chemotherapy and radiation.

ASD (Dorogov's antiseptic stimulant, produced by high-temperature processing of meat and bone meal) is a modified Russian-made biostimulant used in veterinary medicine. According to the patent, it can be used to activate general and local metabolism.

Thiophane is a phenolic antioxidant produced in the Russian Federation, containing hydroxyphenylpropyl sulfides and a stabilizer of polymers and food products (CO-3). Acts as an angioprotector, that is, it improves the rheological properties of blood and reduces the risk of blood clots.

Creolin is an antiseptic disinfectant; Can be used externally for mycoses.

Krutsin - official production has long been discontinued.

Traditional cures for cancer

Some, faced with an oncological diagnosis, decide to use so-called traditional medicines for cancer. Do such miracle remedies even exist?

For example, there are rumors that soda, as a cure for cancer, cures oncology...

Now expelled from the Italian Medical Association, Italian oncologist Tulio Simoncini once came up with the idea of ​​the fungal origin of cancer, and he assured everyone that cancer is caused by the fungus Candida albicans, which colonizes the human body (and even wrote a book about it, Cancer is Fungus). Because he treated cancer patients with injections of sodium bicarbonate (soda) solution, rather than prescribing the necessary cancer medications, he was deprived of the right to practice medicine. And when one of his patients died, Simoncini was put on trial.

Folk remedies for cancer include chaga (birch mushroom), celandine herb (especially for colon cancer), garlic, green tea, ginger root and turmeric.

Selenium (Se) is able to inhibit the growth of thyroid tumors due to optimization of the immune system and antioxidant properties (American oncologists recommend that their patients consume 200 mcg of selenium daily).

The perennial herbaceous plant aconite (fighter) used in homeopathy is poisonous, but, as recent laboratory studies at the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Lishui, Zhejiang Province) have shown, the poisonous alkaloid of this plant - aconitine - inhibits the growth of pancreatic cancer cells and activates them apoptosis (the study was carried out on mice).

How can black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) help with cancer? Elderberry contains anthocyanins, flavonoids, other polyphenols and vitamins A and C, which give its berries medicinal properties, particularly antioxidant ones. Some physiological and biochemical processes in the body contribute to the formation of free radicals. Oxidative reactions can cause abnormal cell mitosis and the appearance of tumors that can become malignant.

Once upon a time, in the absence of medicines, kerosene (an oil refining product) was used for widespread infections (for disinfection), arthritis and radiculitis). Probably, the merit of kerosene (taken orally) is the destruction of bacteria and fungal infections, which in case of cancer reduced the infectious load on the immune system.

Fly agaric, toadstool and cancer

The red fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), which is a deadly poisonous mushroom, and its closest relative, the toadstool (Amanita phalloides), contain the amatoxins α- and β-amanitin. In classical homeopathy, Amanita phalloides is used as a remedy for the fear of death...

The mechanism of the toxic effect of amatoxins on the human body is associated with inhibition of a vital enzyme in the synthesis of cellular proteins - RNA polymerase II (RNAP II). By interacting with this enzyme, α-amanitin prevents the translocation of RNA and DNA, resulting in the cessation of metabolism in cells and its death. When all this happens to tumor cells, where, as it turns out, RNAP II activity (due to increased expression of tumor HOX genes) is higher compared to healthy cells, the fly agaric or toadstool toxin acts as an anticancer agent. At the same time, α-amanitin, while affecting atypical cells, does not cause serious consequences for healthy cells.], ,

Hemp and its oil

Hemp seed (Cannabis sativa) produces not only a drug, but also an oil that is considered an effective additional treatment for cancer, stopping the growth of malignant tumors.

Hemp oil contains cannabinoids (phenol-containing terpenodes), one of which, cannabidiol, binds to specific ones found in the central nervous system, lungs, liver, kidneys, hematopoietic and immunocompetent cells (macrophages, T- and B-cells of the immune system). Due to its blocking effect on the inhibitor of DNA-binding protein ID-1 (stimulating growth, angiogenesis and neoplastic transformation of cells), cannabidiol reduces its expression in cancer cells.

This has been proven by a number of studies, and today hemp oil includes anti-cancer effects such as preventing the appearance of new blood vessels in the tumor and the spread of cancer cells to neighboring tissues, as well as stopping the division of atypical cells and starting the process of their lysosomal “self-digestion” - autophagy. This applies to malignant neoplasms of the lung, prostate and pancreas, colorectal and ovarian carcinoma, leukemia and lymphomas.

Flax oil in the diet of cancer patients

Flax oil (linseed oil) contains many unsaturated fatty acids: linolenic (ω-3), linoleic (ω-6) and oleic (ω-9). Alpha- and gamma-tocopherol and selenium were also identified in its composition. Selenium was mentioned above, but fatty acids should be unsaturated, since, according to the theory of the famous German pharmacologist and nutritionist Johanna Budwig, author of a diet for cancer patients, the causes of many forms of cancer lie in an imbalance of polysaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids - with predominance of saturated ones.

Experts from the American Institute for Cancer Research support the opinion that flax oil is certainly beneficial for cancer patients, but it cannot cure cancer pathology.

Where can I get Brazilian wasp venom?

The polybia wasp (Polybia paulista) lives in the tropical regions of Argentina, Paraguay and is common in Brazil

The venom of the Brazilian wasp contains peptide toxins - polybins (Polybia-MP1, etc.), which, as biochemists at Sao Paulo State University (Brazil) and the British University of Leeds have found, adhesively bind to the phospholipids of cell membranes, damage them and penetrate into cancer cells.

And as a result of the subsequent necrosis of the cytoplasm and chemical destruction of mitochondria, a decrease in tumors is observed - due to the inevitable death of its cells.

How do cancer drugs work?

When asked the question - is there a cure for cancer? - then, obviously, they mean a drug that can destroy a tumor and make damaged cells healthy. There is no such drug yet, and most of the drugs that are currently used by oncologists in anti-cancer chemotherapy (they are called anti-blastoma cytostatics and cytotoxins) are aimed at slowing down the mitosis of tumor cells, leading to their programmed decay. Unfortunately, these drugs do not act selectively (only on tumor cells), and normal cells are also affected.

There is also no universal cure for all types of cancer, despite loud statements from some pharmaceutical companies from time to time. The fact is that cancerous tumors of different organs form, grow and respond to drug exposure in different ways, and this depends on many factors that are difficult to take into account in a single drug.

However, for almost all types of malignant neoplasms, multifunctional alkylating drugs (DNA replication inhibitors) are used. This is one of the main and most numerous groups of anticancer drugs. Depending on the mechanism of action, cytostatic cancer drugs may be classified as antimetabolites (Methotrexate, Ftorafur, Gemcitabine, etc.), plant alkaloids (Vincristine, Vinblastine, Paclitaxel, Docetaxel, Etoposide) and antitumor antibiotics (Bleomycin, Doxorubicin, Mitomycin).

Other drugs are used for targeted therapy. First, they must reduce the number of tumor cells without affecting normal cells, especially immune ones. Secondly, the immune system, especially its cellular component, requires strengthening. To achieve the first goal, there are drugs that have an inhibitory or blocking effect on specific cancer genes or enzymes in the human body that promote the growth and survival of tumor cells. These are drugs from groups of enzyme inhibitors (Imatinib, Sunitinib, Bortezomib, Letromar, Regorafenib, etc.) and monoclonal antibodies (Alemtuzumab, Bevacizumab, Rituximab, Trastuzumab, Keytruda(Pembrolizumab), Pierrette(Pertuzumab). A number of antitumor hormonal agents (for example, Triptorelin, Goserelin, etc.) are used for hormone-dependent types of cancer. And to help the immune system cope with mutant cells, oncologists prescribe drugs that modulate immunity (although there is disagreement about their effectiveness).

The most expensive cancer drugs

Cancer is a cruel disease that affects millions of people every year. And in order to overcome their illness, they are forced to pay exorbitant amounts of money for most of them for the most expensive cancer drugs. From a business point of view, oncology drugs are the most reliable guarantee of high profits for pharmaceutical companies...

Many new drugs target specific types of cancer and are very expensive. For example, the price of 40 mg of the drug Opdivo(Nivolumab) 40 mg. - more than $900, and 100 mg - over $2300. Price of one package of medicine Zolinza(120 tablets in a package) is about $12 thousand, that is, each tablet costs the patient $100.

When will a cure for cancer be invented?

“Treating cancer is difficult, and the biological changes in cancer types are profound and pose a big challenge with all the different mutations in cancers.” This was said by the former director of the American National Cancer Institute (NCI), Nobel Prize winner Dr. Harold Varmus.

Experts say there has been enormous progress in the field of cancer over the past five years, but a “cure” for all types is unlikely, given that there are at least about 200 of them. So finding one cancer drug to treat all of them is probably impossible.

Therefore, oncologists do not believe in any prophecies about a cure for cancer... Someday, as Vanga said, cancer should be “shackled with iron chains,” but no one knows who this “blacksmith” will be.

After all, you can inject immunocytes that kill all foreign cells and leave the patient in a sterile room.

In addition, there are already quite a few drugs and methods for treating cancer in the early stages and fairly reliable methods for early diagnosis of cancer, when these drugs can still be used.

The fact is that cancer cells arise as a result of the evolution of ordinary cells in the body. The cells of the body are also living beings and there is also competition between them for the limited resources supplied to them.

Cells try to evolve in such a way as to win this fight, and as a result, cancer cells arise, which actually begin to very effectively win the local competition for resources. But at the same time, they suppress other beneficial cells and the entire body begins to die.

Removing these cells does not help, because the conditions for their appearance have not disappeared and they appear again as a result of the evolution of the remaining normal cells. It is impossible to completely destroy them in the body, just as it is impossible to exterminate rats on Earth.

Finding a cure for cancer is an extremely difficult task. There is an opinion that this is the natural evolutionary path of all cells of the human body in general, and that supposedly no other evolutionary path of cells is possible.

It is possible to stop cancer at the early stages, but at the terminal stages (3B-4 degrees) all that remains is surgical treatment and faith in the Almighty...

How to fight if you are not a doctor?

Unfortunately, many people die from various types of cancer. And this happens in most cases due to the fact that the diagnosis was not made in a timely manner. Executive Director of the Cancer Prevention Foundation, oncologist Ilya Fomintsev, told how to avoid this and what to do to reduce the risk of contracting this disease.

Ilya, please tell me what types of oncology are most common now?

In Russia, these are breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer (colon and rectum), stomach cancer, skin cancer, prostate cancer and cervical cancer.

Is it true that any type of cancer can be treated at an early stage? Which cancer is the easiest to get rid of?

All of the cancers listed above are truly treatable at an early stage. But by the early stage, people mean different things. Sometimes oncologists are disingenuous, calling the first and second stages early. In fact, only the first stage is really early.

But some cancers, even at an early stage, are very dangerous: for example, pancreatic cancer. Even in small volumes, it can critically disrupt human anatomy. The same can be said about high-grade brain tumors. Much depends on the biology of the tumor.

At a minimum, how long does it take to treat cancer?

If the stage is early and radiation therapy and chemotherapy are not required, then treatment can actually take a week. This is, for example, what is needed for hospitalization for radical resection for breast cancer.

What examinations and how often should you carry out to monitor your health and, if necessary, detect cancer at an early stage?

Examinations for each age and sex group are different. Much depends on the risk factors and heredity that a person has. In order to answer this question more or less individually and at the same time en masse, the Cancer Prevention Foundation has created a special online test.

By answering a few simple questions in a couple of minutes, you can receive individual recommendations on the examinations that are right for you. In fact, this is a cancer risk test, as a result of which we give individual recommendations for regular screening, based on global experience. The test can be taken on the Foundation’s website – www.nenaprasno.ru

Ilya, can cancer be treated without surgery?

Yes, in some cases you can get by with radiation therapy alone or chemotherapy alone. For example, skin basal cell carcinomas are treated this way. Even prostate cancer in certain clinical situations can be perfectly treated without surgery.

Is chemotherapy always given?

No, chemotherapy is carried out when it is indicated. If we talk about radical treatment of cancer, now these indications are quite wide and chemotherapy is carried out, I think, in 60-70% of cases for radical treatment of cancer. Much depends on the stage and immunohistochemical type of the tumor.

Have there been any innovative oncology treatment methods that we use recently?

Basically, innovative treatment methods are now called high-tech improvements to traditional treatment methods. There are still no fundamentally new methods of treating cancer: it is still surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

For example, endovideo technologies are now gaining powerful momentum in oncology surgery, monoclonal antibody treatment in chemotherapy, and high-precision positioning methods using computers in radiation therapy. The only problem is that these things are very, very expensive.

They say that if you've already had cancer, it can come back. Is it true? How often does this kind of thing happen?

This is true. Such cases are called primary multiple tumors. If it "returns" it is called metachronous cancer. This, alas, is not at all a rare occurrence. Cancer is that bomb that just falls into one funnel. It is important to always monitor your health.

What external factors increase the risk of developing cancer?

First of all, this is smoking, unhealthy lifestyle, unbalanced diet, contact with chemical carcinogens at work and at home, and radiation.

In addition, the efforts of professionals who provide psychological assistance to cancer patients are now very noticeable. Oncological psychologists should not be discounted. Personally, I would recommend contacting them even preventatively when making an oncological diagnosis.

Cancer is not a reason to fall into despair or sign a bitter sentence. The disease, which is one of the most common on the planet today, is cured at various stages in more than 90% of cases.

How to maintain your health, is it possible to protect yourself from cancer, how is cancer treated in Singapore, Boris Tikhonov, executive director of one of the largest medical insurance organizations in Primorye, the Eastern Insurance Alliance company, spoke about this in an interview on World Cancer Day.

Boris Petrovich, is it possible to protect yourself from cancer today? Especially here, because Russia, according to the World Health Organization, occupies a completely disgraceful second place among European countries with the highest mortality rates from cancer.

Unfortunately, no one is immune from cancer. The disease is not chosen by a child or an adult, rich or poor. But we should all know that cancer is curable, especially in the early stages. Modern medicine has achieved great success in the diagnosis and treatment of oncology.

The latest diagnostic equipment allows you to see the insidious disease at the zero stage. The most important thing is for a person to see a doctor on time. There is no need to wait for the manifestation of any symptoms of the disease, but undergo diagnostic examinations in a timely and regular manner. This is a very simple rule of a civilized, careful attitude towards one’s own health.

By the way, this year’s World Cancer Day aims to inform people as much as possible about cancer, to explain that early diagnosis is necessary, that cancer is curable, and in most cases it can be avoided altogether - only through a healthy lifestyle.

In 60% of cases, cancer is detected at the third or fourth stage, which significantly complicates treatment. The earlier the disease is detected, the greater the chances of a complete cure.

Does your compulsory health insurance policy allow you to undergo the necessary examinations?

In the Primorsky Territory there is a Territorial Program of State Guarantees for the provision of free medical care. The program describes in detail all types and volumes of medical care that are provided free of charge under the compulsory medical insurance policy.

Boris Petrovich, but everyone knows how difficult it is for us to get an appointment with a doctor: eternal queues, the problem of making an appointment, and even try, find a good doctor, and not only professionally, but also simply humane and responsive. That's why people put off visiting a doctor, literally, until the last minute.

I agree, there are such problems. But we are trying to do everything to ensure that people insured by the Eastern Insurance Alliance receive the medical services required under the policy on time and of good quality. This is our priority.

If a person believes that his rights have been violated, if some controversial situation has arisen, you can always call our specialists. The hotline is open 24 hours a day. Call: 244-68-17 - expert doctors are available 24 hours a day.

If you want to be healthy, undergo regular diagnostic examinations every year. This is especially important for those who are at risk: those with a family history (relatives had cancer), workers in hazardous industries, as well as all people over 40 years of age, when the threat of cancer increases sharply.

Is the attitude of society towards this disease important for diagnosis and treatment?

I think it's very important. First, society must force the state to regulate the sale of cigarettes and prohibit smoking in public places. Not only smokers, but also passive inhalers of tobacco smoke can suffer from it.

In countries where such policies are actively pursued (for example, in the United States), the incidence of lung cancer, the most destructive type of cancer, is declining. In Russia, steps are also being taken in this direction, for example, on every pack of cigarettes there is now a simple and understandable inscription: “smoking kills.”

The cure for cancer was invented back in 1978

Who gets cancer and why? How exactly does this disease kill? Is it possible to recover from it? Should a patient at an oncology clinic know his diagnosis? Oncologist Alexander Lyubimov answers these and other questions.

Alexander Lyubimov, Doctor of Biological Sciences.

He graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University in 1974. He worked for almost 20 years at the Russian Oncological Scientific Center named after. N.N. Blokhin, studying the mechanisms of tumor invasion and the production of monoclonal antibodies for the diagnosis of colon and breast cancer.

Since 1993 he has been working at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles, USA). Director of Ophthalmic Laboratories, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Member of the editorial boards of 10 international scientific journals.

The body against itself

Many circumstances hinder success, but I would like to highlight three main ones.

1. The pathogenic source is our own cells (and not viruses or bacteria, which the body has learned to fight over millennia), which, due to genetic changes, began to divide uncontrollably in some organ.

They do not differ radically from normal cells, especially from intensively renewed ones (blood cells, intestinal cells), which also die during classical chemotherapy methods, which leads to serious side effects.

In addition, tumor cells are heterogeneous, that is, they differ in their properties from each other. In the fight against the host’s immune system and overcoming the attacks of chemotherapy on cancer, treatment involves the selection (selection) of new variants of tumor cells, which become increasingly aggressive and resistant to adverse conditions, in particular to drug exposure.

Therefore, in oncology, the most effective treatment of malignant tumors is using a combination of surgical and (or) radiation and drug treatment - the so-called combination treatment. Its particular type is combination drug therapy (chemotherapy), which combines the use of several drugs aimed at different aspects of the life of tumor cells to enhance the effect.

Melanoma on the face. Photo: happydoctor.ru

2. According to the rules of the famous British pathologist Leslie Foulds, which are basically confirmed by all the experience of oncology, all malignant tumors are individual, just like people are individual. Therefore, even morphologically similar forms of cancer in different people can develop differently and also respond differently to treatment.

In other words, real success in cancer treatment must come from an individual approach when treating a patient. Particular attention has recently been paid to personalized medicine, where the doctor should ideally first obtain data about the specific tumor of a particular patient, including detailed information about the genetic status of the tumor, the levels of various marker proteins, as well as proteins that are responsible for cell resistance to chemotherapy.

3. The most unpleasant properties of malignant tumors for treatment and prognosis are invasive growth and, especially, metastasis. Unlike benign tumors, which grow expansively, that is, in the form of a compact node, pushing aside normal cells, malignant tumors grow into the tissue of the organ in which they arose (invade).

This means that cancer cells can “eat away” surrounding normal tissue and penetrate far away from the primary tumor node. In this case, invasion can occur both in groups of cancer cells and in single cells.

This makes it difficult to determine the boundaries of the tumor for surgical removal, so doctors are often forced to remove not only the visible tumor node, but also part of the normal tissue adjacent to it. Sometimes this cannot be done without serious consequences, as in the case of brain tumors.

But the most dangerous property of cancer cells is their ability to pass through the walls of blood and lymph vessels and enter the bloodstream and lymph. Then they are able to survive in this environment, move to another place, again penetrate the tissue of a healthy organ and begin to grow in a new place, forming new tumor foci.

This process is called metastasis, and it is the main stumbling block to the success of treatment. If this happens, doctors cannot always find all the “parts” of the tumor until they have grown to a certain size, and are forced to resort to systemic treatment with irradiation of large areas of the body and chemotherapy.

Of course, about 10 million new cases are registered every year (the aging of earthlings contributes to this), but almost 30 million winners are also impressive. Projections for the growth of cancer incidence are still disappointing (12% of all deaths), but the development of early diagnosis (more than 90% of cures in the early stages) and new treatments that are becoming cheaper can seriously change the course of our fight against this disease.

Modern methods of treatment

Recently, increasing attention has been paid to the identification and characterization of tumor stem cells, and the search for ways and drugs to target them, bypassing or suppressing the mechanisms of their drug resistance. Biological therapies are increasingly being used, for example with anti-cancer antibodies.

They react with specific proteins (receptors) on the surface of tumor cells, which allow them to multiply better and/or faster. Binding of an antibody (for example, Herseptin/Herseptin for some breast cancers, or Avastin for colorectal cancers) blocks the receptor and leads to slowing or even stopping the growth of the malignant tumor.

Biotherapy can sometimes be used alone, but is more often used in combination with other treatments. Another promising area of ​​treatment is blocking the growth of blood vessels that feed the tumor, without which its growth is significantly slowed down.

Finally, one of the hottest areas of cancer research is the development of targeted drug delivery. Ideally, it would target the drug directly to the tumor (as opposed to conventional chemotherapy) using cancer cell surface proteins as targets for delivery systems.

In this regard, special attention has recently been paid to nanotechnology. With their help, systems are being developed that can selectively deliver drugs to tumor cells, while sparing normal ones, which makes it possible to increase the dose without increasing side effects.

These new systems are complex and high-tech, which is reflected in the cost of production. However, encouraging results in animals and the introduction of the first nanomedicines into the clinic give hope that the large-scale use of a new generation of anticancer drugs is not far off.

Thanks to scientific and technological progress (including in the field of medicine), people began to suffer less from infectious diseases, hunger and natural disasters. Life expectancy has increased, but at the same time the risk of developing cancer at least once during life has also increased.

This is a natural process: with age, damage in our DNA accumulates, and such changes lead to the occurrence of cancer. But we have learned to diagnose cancer in a timely manner; more precisely, we have created many screening methods that make it possible to recognize a tumor even before it appears. All this became possible thanks to new imaging and pathology techniques.

Yes, of course, diet, lifestyle and environment together have a tremendous impact on the risk of malignant tumors - smoking, for example, is responsible for more than 25% of all cancer deaths.

But this does not mean that cancer is a modern disease created by man. There are many natural causes of cancer that do not depend on humans: every sixth case of cancer is caused by bacteria or viruses.

Let's be honest, cancer treatment, whether it's chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery, is no walk in the park. The side effects can be quite unpleasant; after all, a treatment that is supposed to kill cancer cells will inevitably affect healthy cells too.

Sometimes, unfortunately, neither method works. We know that it is very difficult to cure advanced cancer that has already spread throughout the body. In such situations, therapy provides temporary relief of symptoms and even prolongs life, but does not completely eliminate the cancer.

Surgery for cancer is still most effective in situations where the diagnosis is made early enough for surgery to be performed. Radiation therapy also plays a huge role in the fight against cancer.

Statements found on the Internet that “chemotherapy is only 3% effective” are untrue, as are suggestions that chemotherapy “causes cancer.”

It is important to remember that the number of successful chemotherapy cases is constantly increasing. For example, today more than 96% of men with testicular cancer recover, but in the 1970s this figure did not exceed 70%.

And all this thanks to the discovery of a drug that we today call “cisplatin”. Three quarters of children diagnosed with cancer today continue to live, but in the 1960s no more than 25% of those diagnosed with cancer remained alive.

We know we have a long way to go before we have a safe and effective treatment for all types of cancer. There is no such cure yet, and it is important that doctors, patients and their families have realistic expectations, especially for complex cancer cases.

Sometimes it makes more sense to focus on treatments that reduce pain and other symptoms of cancer rather than trying to cure the disease. Maintaining a balance between quality of life and its duration is one of the main issues in the fight against cancer, and each patient must find the answer to it independently.

Why does a person get sick?

What are the causes of cancer? Or are there no reliably established reasons - just hypotheses? Is there a way to protect yourself and minimize the risk?

As for the causes of cancer, the question generally remains open. There are many hypotheses, but not all can be tested in humans. Cancer at the molecular level is the result of mutations (changes in genetic material or levels of production of certain proteins) in some cells of the body. In this case, such cells lose control of reproduction and begin to divide uncontrollably.

Growth of benign and malignant tumors: in the second case, infiltration of surrounding tissues by tumor cells. Photo: anticancer.ru

In the process of selection for survival within the body, these cells gain an advantage over normal cells, since they have reduced requirements for growth factors in the environment and resistance to unfavorable conditions.

Unlike normal cells, they often cannot perform functions useful to the body, do not make strong contacts with each other and with surrounding normal cells, and only multiply. Thus, they behave "antisocially."

Oncogenic (tumor-causing) mutations in the genetic apparatus of cells can be caused by various chemicals that can lead to the formation of tumors (such substances are called carcinogens), and certain viruses, as well as ultraviolet radiation and ionizing radiation.

The theory of chemical carcinogenesis implies that cancer is caused by exposure to environmental chemicals, many of which, unfortunately, are produced by humans (for example, aniline dyes).

The mechanism of their action is apparently the same - the occurrence of genetic changes that disrupt the control of cell growth. There are quite a lot of known chemical carcinogens and they are very diverse in structure. These can be complex organic molecules such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or simpler molecules, for example, benzidine, arsenic and its compounds, benzene, some metals (nickel, chromium, etc.) and their compounds, natural or synthetic fibers (for example, asbestos) and other substances.

Carcinogens are present in coal tar and tar, in exhaust gases from gasoline and diesel engines, and in tobacco smoke. They are present in a number of industries, such as, for example, the production of certain dyes, in the rubber, tanning, foundry, coke or oil refining industries. Carcinogens can be found in food and cosmetics.

Not only chemical carcinogens, but also some viruses can cause tumors in humans and are therefore called oncogenic viruses. Up to 15% of human tumors are of viral origin. One of the first oncogenic viruses (Rouse sarcoma virus) was isolated more than 100 years ago by Peyton Routh.

This theory had many opponents, so Routh himself, receiving the Nobel Prize at the age of 87, noted as his main merit not the discovery of the virus, but the fact that he managed to live to see its official recognition (in fairness, it should be clarified that he was nominated during 40 years!).

Several types of human oncogenic viruses have now been well studied. Examples include papilloma viruses and hepatitis viruses. Papilloma viruses can be sexually transmitted and cause benign papillomas of the respiratory and genital organs, as well as (in a small percentage of those infected) cervical cancer.

Hepatitis B and C viruses lead to hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), but in a small percentage of cases, chronic infection leads to liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus is most often spread through blood, so the risk group primarily includes drug addicts, as well as people who receive frequent blood transfusions. Apparently, some leukemias are also of viral origin.

Ultraviolet radiation may contribute to the development of skin cancer. This is often observed in farmers and fishermen exposed to prolonged exposure to sunlight. Ionizing radiation (eg, X-rays, gamma rays, charged particles) can also cause cancer.

Its carcinogenicity has been shown in epidemiological studies conducted among various populations exposed to radiation for medical reasons, in nuclear production, during testing of atomic weapons, as a result of accidents at nuclear power plants and, finally, after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Thus, a wide variety of factors can cause cancer. It is necessary, however, to point out that the impact of the oncogenic factors listed above on a person is of a probabilistic-statistical nature, that is, the presence of an impact does not necessarily mean that this person will develop a malignant tumor.

To realize the effect of a carcinogenic factor, be it a chemical, a virus or radiation, additional influences are necessary, and the final result of the carcinogen-organism interaction depends on a number of known and unknown factors.

It has long been noted that the incidence of cancer increases in older age groups. They tried to explain this by the accumulation of unfavorable genetic changes with age, and there was even a theory about the constant occurrence of small tumors, which the body is able to cope with for the time being.

However, these theories have not received serious experimental confirmation, although the accumulation of damage with age is usually recognized. In general, important mechanisms of cancer development have been discovered, but many details of this multi-step process remain unsolved and require further study.

Is it possible to defend yourself?

How can you prevent cancer? Knowledge of the factors that cause the formation of malignant tumors helps to find ways to reduce the risk of the disease by removing these factors or reducing their impact.

Some industries are known to use or produce tumor-promoting substances. In these cases, they try to make industrial cycles closed, limit the duration of shifts, use more efficient air and emissions filters, etc.

The US and Europe have long banned the construction of houses using asbestos as a building material because asbestos dust can cause a type of cancer. The design of automobile engines provides for the reduction of harmful emissions containing carcinogenic substances.

In recent years, antiviral vaccines have begun to be used to prevent infection by certain oncogenic viruses. For example, girls are vaccinated against papilloma viruses to prevent them from developing cervical cancer in the future.

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation as a result of frequent exposure to bright sun, especially in middle and southern latitudes, as well as abuse of tanning beds increases the risk of skin cancer, which can also be easily avoided.

Careful control of radiation exposure to which workers at nuclear power plants and other nuclear production facilities may be exposed sharply reduces or eliminates the risks of developing various tumors from ionizing radiation.

Nutrition plays an important role in preventing the development of certain tumors. For example, you should avoid excess consumption of fats, especially animal fats, and reduce your calorie intake. Obesity is a serious risk factor for uterine cancer.

Excessive consumption of animal fats and meat increases the risk of developing colon cancer. On the contrary, eating plant foods, especially “green-yellow” vegetables, with reduced consumption of meat, especially “red”, reduces the risk of developing colon cancer and a number of other tumors.

Many people are severely deficient in vitamin D, which can also contribute to the development of cancer. Therefore, a balanced diet with a minimum of animal fats and processed meats such as hamburgers, but with plenty of vitamins, vegetables and fruits can reduce the risk of cancer.

Finally, the most well-known factor contributing to the development of cancer, and not just lung cancer, is smoking. Tobacco smoke contains several dozen different carcinogenic substances. Available data on the dangers of smoking confirm an increased risk of cancer of the breast, intestines, stomach, bladder, kidney, etc.

Moreover, not only active but also passive smoking is dangerous: the risk of lung cancer in non-smoking women whose husbands smoke increases by 30%. Therefore, many developed countries have carried out powerful campaigns to stop smoking and have introduced bans on smoking in public places.

Statistics show that some forms of cancer have declined in countries where anti-tobacco legislation is in place. In Russia, unfortunately, this is still a very serious problem, affecting not only adult men, but also women and children.

Another factor that must be combated is excessive consumption of strong alcoholic beverages, which increases the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity, esophagus, liver and some other organs. Quitting alcohol abuse, along with quitting smoking, will help significantly reduce the incidence of cancer.

In general, the problem of reducing the risk of cancer is very serious, and it must be solved comprehensively, not only by doctors, but also by society as a whole.

Get a medical checkup!

In this regard, it is necessary to mention the problem of early diagnosis. It's no secret that a disease at an early stage is always treated faster and more effectively than at a later stage. Therefore, we cannot neglect the meager (this word will not work for early diagnosis), but already available early diagnostic capabilities.

Men over 50 years of age should have their blood tested regularly (once a year) for a protein called prostate-specific antigen (PSA). If an increase in its concentration in the blood is recorded (above normal 4 ng/ml) during two studies close in time, you should immediately consult a doctor. Early detection of prostate cancer is the key to a full recovery.

The same applies to women who have a chance of detecting a breast tumor at an early stage if they regularly visit a gynecologist, and after 40 years of age also have regular mammography. After 50 years, it is also recommended to have a colonoscopy (optical examination of the large intestine) every 3-5 years so that the tumor can be detected in the early stages. Unfortunately, this practice is not common everywhere.

The advantage of early diagnosis is evidenced by a well-known fact from the history of Japanese medicine. Due to lifestyle, including diet, stomach cancer is common in Japan. They had a national cancer phobia for a long time because of this.

However, the healthcare system has found an answer. Diagnostic buses with the necessary equipment began to travel throughout the country and check the population even in villages. At the same time, they were able to identify many asymptomatic cancers and then treat patients.

How does a malignant tumor behave?

- How does cancer kill a person? Cell degeneration - why does it lead to death?

Cell degeneration itself does not lead to death. It is caused by the consequences of tumor growth, which depend on many reasons and on the type of tumor. The most common cause is an associated infection (often pneumonia) associated with suppression of the immune system by the tumor. This phenomenon is well described, but the reasons are not fully understood.

In the case of leukemia (sometimes incorrectly called “blood cancer”), tumor cells that replace normal ones in the bone marrow are unable to perform protective functions, which leads to decreased immunity and the development of infections.

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy, while killing cancer cells, have a negative effect on healthy ones, which also undermines the body's resistance to infections. Acute hemorrhage, blockage of blood vessels by blood clots and pulmonary failure can also lead to death in almost 20% of cancer patients.

Invasion and, as a consequence, destruction of tissue (bones, liver, brain, etc.) lead to death in 10% of patients. Some tumors, such as colon cancer, can cause severe and sometimes fatal anemia due to chronic hemorrhage. e.

What is the first thing to be afraid of?

What types of cancer are the most common/most dangerous? Which ones are easiest to treat?

Due to the aging of the population, as well as improved early diagnosis, prostate cancer (prostate) cancer in men has become the leading morbidity factor. There is an opinion among oncologists that all men can get this cancer, but not all live to see it.

If we talk about tumors that are not related to gender, lung cancer ranks first in incidence. Cancers of the colon and rectum are common. Somewhat less often, people get bladder cancer, melanoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, kidney cancer, and leukemia.

Lung tumor. Color electron micrograph. Photo: Moredun Animal Health LTD

Mortality rates from these diseases vary greatly. Lung cancer is the biggest killer (more deaths in the US in 2010), followed in descending order by colon and rectal cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, etc.

Pancreatic cancer is the most difficult to treat. Only 5% of those affected survive 5 years. However, in general, most patients die from lung cancer, primarily due to its prevalence.

Some skin cancers (basal cell carcinomas) practically do not metastasize and are easily cured by conventional surgical removal. As mentioned above, Burkitt's lymphoma, mainly common in Africa, as well as chorionepithelioma and Hodgkin's disease are excellently treated.

In these cases, conventional classical chemotherapy is sufficient. It is important to know that many malignant tumors in the early stages (I–II) have a high probability of complete cure, in particular breast cancer.

Does the patient have the right to know the diagnosis?

In America, a person is immediately informed of the diagnosis, in Russia it is believed that the patient does not understand medicine anyway, so you just need him to obediently follow the doctors’ orders and not try to understand what is happening to him. Which approach is more correct?

Interesting data on this issue regarding the USA and Russia are presented here. Indeed, in the United States, not only relatives, but also the patient are informed of a cancer diagnosis. Firstly, doctors cannot hide a diagnosis, otherwise they may be sued.

Secondly, patients are recognized as having the right to complete information so that they can put their affairs in order, legal, property, etc. However, this can negatively affect the mental state of the patient, cause depression, sometimes refusal of treatment, attempts to be treated using unconventional methods, thinking that conventional medicine won’t save you anyway.

In Russia, patients are often (but not always) not told that they have cancer, not because “the patient does not understand medicine.” The ethical side of this issue is much more subtle. Firstly, such a diagnosis, as mentioned above, can negatively affect the patient’s mental state, up to and including suicidal tendencies and actual suicide attempts. In the latter case, the belief that cancer is usually incurable plays a role.

Photo: Evgeny Kapustin, photosight.ru

As was said in one interview with domestic oncologists, cancer is often viewed in society not as a diagnosis, but as a death sentence. Moreover, some even believe that the disease was sent to them as punishment, which is completely wrong.

Secondly, it is believed, although it has not yet been scientifically proven, that patients who are determined to defeat the disease are more likely to defeat it. And if there is even a little hope, faith in victory remains. “Fighters” tolerate therapy even better than people who have resigned themselves to their fate. A detailed and very objective analysis of these problems can be found at this link.

To help patients, both in the fight against the disease and during the rehabilitation period after operations, many oncology centers employ full-time psychologists. For example, in the Moscow Oncology Center named after. N. N. Blokhin psychologists have been helping patients for several decades.

Naturally, where the rules oblige doctors to communicate the diagnosis not only to close relatives, but also to the patients themselves, this issue moves to another plane and comes down to convincing the patient to start fighting the disease in the same team with the doctors and in a clear explanation of the treatment strategy and the chances of recovery .

It is the doctor-patient tandem that must decide the outcome of the disease. Therefore, oncology, especially pediatric oncology, requires enthusiasm and a high degree of empathy. As we see, both approaches have a right to exist;

Where and from whom should I get treatment?

- What is the fundamental difference in the approach to treatment in America and in Russia?

As far as I know, there is no fundamental difference in approach; it would be quite strange if there was one. And the structure of the disease by localization is generally similar. However, the practical difference in treatment may be significant in favor of the United States for a number of reasons.

This may include relative difficulties in Russia, especially in the periphery, with new generations of drugs, complex diagnostic and treatment equipment, lack of awareness of doctors about new treatment methods (this may also include problems with the English language), potential lack of experience in certain operations, etc. d.

Although the number of oncologists and radiologists in the population in Russia and the USA is approximately the same. These considerations, naturally, do not apply to large oncology centers, which in Russia provide treatment at the world level.

This is a very difficult and quite individual question. If there is a recommendation, it makes things easier. Treatment should only be carried out in a specialized clinic (and not in a regular hospital). There, doctors are “focused” on oncology, both in diagnosis and treatment.

The choice of doctor can be dictated by a variety of reasons; everyone can name ten at once. It is important that the doctor has experience or is a specialist in this localization, and not an oncologist “in general”; This usually happens in oncology centers, but in clinics the situation is different.

Chemotherapy. Photo: zdorovieinfo.ru

Doctors usually treat according to standard schemes, so everyone works in approximately the same way. An important point is adequate contact with the patient and relatives. A competent doctor will reveal all the cards, tell the treatment tactics and outline the possible consequences.

The doctor's confidence and logic should show the patient the doctor's competence: these are important elements of trust. A doctor’s ability to answer calmly, rationally and convincingly to naive, stupid, and sometimes aggressive questions also adds credibility.

According to Dr. Bogdanova (Herzen Moscow Research Institute of Oriology), the patient must feel the doctor’s empathy in order to trust him. And we must not forget that it never hurts the patient to educate himself before meeting with the doctor due to the seriousness of the disease.

On the Internet there is a lot of quite professional information on all types of tumors, as well as support groups where patients, especially those who have recovered, share their personal experiences. Finally, no one canceled another medical opinion, and in such serious cases one should try to get one whenever possible.

Who talks about miracles?

Have there been any cases of inexplicable/miraculous healing in your practice?

The possibility of self-healing from cancer (“spontaneous regression” of the tumor) is a very old and controversial issue. If, God forbid, someone’s relative gets sick, these people immediately begin to hear stories about miraculous healing, as well as about healers, grandmothers, etc.

In modern oncological literature, cases of self-healing are described, but they are extremely rare, approximately 1 cancer. However, some tumors are more likely to spontaneously regress (dissolve) than others, for example, kidney cancer. Many oncologists, however, never see such cases in their lifetime.

Academician N.N. Blokhin, answering the question whether he had encountered such cases (and he had a photographic memory), unequivocally said that he had not. At the same time, several cases of this kind were misdiagnosed, or slides with sections of tumor tissue (biopsy material) were mysteriously lost.

The reasons for self-healing, if there was one, are completely unclear, which gives room to the imagination, especially among charlatans and amateurs, in particular those writing on social networks. The main hypothesis can be considered the activation of the body’s immune system, which occurs as a response to the strong difference between the cells of a given tumor and normal ones. The psychosomatic component is also considered.

The danger of believing in self-healing is that it greatly helps all sorts of charlatans who prepare all sorts of decoctions or “heal” with the help of “astral communication.” General advice to all sick people is to never resort to the help of healers and parapsychologists.

They have not yet helped anyone recover from cancer, but in many cases they have “helped” patients turn to professionals not at stage I of the disease, but at stage III or IV. There are many recent examples of this from the lives of “stars” (for ethical reasons I do not want to name the names of the deceased).

From marijuana to coffee enemas, the Internet is teeming with videos and stories of natural "miracle" cancer cures.

But these supernatural healing methods, unfortunately, use the same supernatural evidence: YouTube videos and blog posts instead of clinical studies and scientific journal publications.

In most cases, it is impossible to even assess the authenticity of a healing video or post. We don’t know anything about the diagnosis, the stage of the disease, the treatment method - we don’t even know whether those who are called patients in the videos actually had cancer.

Usually we only hear stories of healing about such remedies - but where are all those who tried, but it didn’t help them? Or did it help, but it was too late? The dead cannot talk, so people who talk about magic cures often create an unrealistic picture, wittingly or unwittingly falsifying the facts and presenting the “miracle tincture” as almost a panacea.

All drugs used to treat malignant tumors must meet these standards.

This does not mean that there are no sources of medicines in nature. Many drugs, from aspirin to penicillin, were derived from natural materials such as willow bark or mold. And the well-known antitumor drug paclitaxel was originally isolated from the bark and needles of the Pacific short-leaved yew.

But this is not at all the same as shouting from all corners: “CHEW THE BARK TO CURE CANCER.” The drug becomes effective only after many stages of purification and lengthy clinical studies, during which scientists understand at what dose this drug is effective and safe.

Of course, people want to fight their illness with all existing and non-existent methods, and it is completely normal that they grasp at the slightest hope and often believe everything.

Wikipedia provides a stunningly comprehensive list of ineffective quackery anticancer drugs that everyone should study. Check, perhaps the “newest cure for all types of cancer” offered to you by another “traditional healer” has been in it for a long time.

Myths and fears

- What are the causes of oncophobia? Are they the same or different in America and Russia?

In my opinion, the main reason is the insufficient education of the population. Routine thinking plays a role in all countries, as people still often die from cancer, making it appear to be a fatal disease.

Although, for example, Alzheimer's disease (a type of senile dementia) is much more fatal. Heart attacks and strokes claim significantly more lives than cancer, but they are not feared as much. All this is a lack of information.

Another ugly manifestation of oncophobia (commonly called cancerophobia) is the belief that cancer is contagious. Basically, this misconception is typical for Russia. Of course, the papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer, can be transmitted sexually, and hepatitis C can be transmitted through blood transfusions. However, other than these cases, there is no evidence to support the contagiousness of cancer.

Another possible cause of cancerophobia in Russia is a consequence of the ban on telling a patient a diagnosis. Therefore, if the patient recovered, then he recovered from a stomach ulcer, kidney cyst or uterine fibroids, but if he died, then the relatives learned the true diagnosis, and often shared it with their friends. Thus, for years in Russia there was an impression that there was no recovery from cancer.

In the Internet age, people can access much more professional information than before, almost immediately. Therefore, it is quite stupid to be afraid of cancer. If possible, you should lead a healthy lifestyle (in particular, do not smoke) and undergo regular examinations. Of course, in Russia and, say, in the USA, the opportunities here are unequal.

American decentralization (many specialized centers throughout the country) and Russian centralization (the concentration of such centers mainly in large cities) represent completely different systems for diagnosis and treatment, and the first has many advantages.

Therefore, cancer phobia in Russia may be partly due to the fact that sick people may not have access to qualified cancer care, not to mention early diagnosis or preventive examinations. Although such centers as the Russian Cancer Research Center named after. N.N. Blokhin in Moscow, they work at the world level.

Almost every person, at one stage or another in his life, has encountered a terrible disease, which we usually call cancer. Some have relatives or friends suffering from a fatal disease, others are struggling with this problem themselves, and there are those who have never encountered such an illness, but could not help but hear about it in media reports.

Epidemic or media attack?

Proven fact: lately we have been hearing about cancer more and more often. Well-known people die from it, doctors find new causes of tumor formation, and scientists promise to invent a universal cure.

This is not surprising, since the number of cancer patients has not decreased over the years, and cancer itself has become one of the most common diseases in the world, along with cardiovascular diseases.

Oncologist Doctor of Medical Sciences Alexander Bratik told Reedus that more and more information about cancer is actually appearing on television and on the Internet. But this is happening, in his opinion, not at all because people began to get sick more often, but because they began to pay more attention to their own health.

Now we see the following trend: cancer detection is increasing because technology is constantly developing, and the mortality rate, on the contrary, is falling, since doctors are able to detect cancer at the earliest stage, when it is still correctable. Of course, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the incidence of cancer was slightly lower than it is now, but since then a lot has changed, new factors have appeared that influence the appearance of a tumor, the oncologist explained.

And there are many such factors: poor environment, bad habits, sedentary lifestyle, chronic diseases. It is possible that in the future new causes of cancer will be added to this list, which we do not know about now.

Despite the sad prognosis, many scientists are confident that with the current level of medicine and technology, in another 100 years we will be able to not only quickly detect various diseases, but also completely cure them even in late stages.

Where to get the pill

But if everything in medicine is developing so rapidly, then why can’t scientists invent a vaccine or a universal cure for cancer? Every year, scientific publications publish hundreds of articles in which specialists from different countries talk about their developments, but, as a rule, these drugs never leave the laboratory.

Scientists are trying to fight cancer with radiation and inject expensive drugs into cancer cells, but this does not always help. Why is this happening?

Humanity has been living with cancer for a very long time: the first mention of oncology dates back to the era of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt (7th century BC). This is the famous medical papyrus of Edwin Smith, which lists all the diseases known to the Egyptians, including breast cancer.

Edwin Smith papyrus fragment

And, probably, ever since then, people have been asking the question: when will there be a medicine that can save us from this disease? But most modern scientists are confident that there will never be such a universal medicine. Let's figure out why.

The human body is heterogeneous: we are made up of different organs, and organs are made up of cells. Each cell of our body is an independent cell, separated from others by a special membrane. Despite the fact that all cells work together, each of them is a separate independent entity. Moreover, each cell is in its own place, and therefore it cannot divide constantly, so as not to disrupt the complex system of the body.

Of course, we have tissues whose cells must divide, for example skin. By multiplying, they help the skin recover faster from injury or death. That is, the cell has the ability to receive and respond to signals that command it to divide or not.

But if a cell suddenly degenerates into a cancerous one, then such signals may not reach it. As a result, the mutated cell begins to multiply constantly, forming a tumor.

If scientists can monitor this process, then why can’t it be stopped?

The fact is that it is necessary to influence a growing tumor - a whole army of cancer cells - in different ways. When we talk about a common disease, such as a cold, we understand that some individual cells of the body have begun to work incorrectly. To put them in order again, you just need to take a pill.

In the case of cancer, it will not be possible to reason with the cells, since mutations have already accumulated in them and they are changed forever. Such cells should not be treated, but destroyed immediately. One of the most common ways to fight cancer - chemotherapy - does not treat cells, but simply kills them.

However, when they want to kill a cell, it begins to defend itself. In medicine this is called resistance. What happens to the human body when cancer cells try to be destroyed:

• Firstly, along with the mutated ones, healthy cells that are nearby also die. Current methods of fighting cancer use broad-spectrum chemotherapy, which also affects healthy areas.
• Secondly, each cancer cell is unique. During the mutation, breakdowns occurred in it, due to which each next generation of cancer cells will be different from the previous ones. If scientists find a drug that kills some cancer cells, then while they die, new ones are formed that are resistant to this drug. And so on in a circle.

Through trial and error, experts have created an entire system that can fight certain types of cancer with varying degrees of success.

If a scientist manages to isolate a protein from a cell, then with a high probability he will be able to select the right drug. But it often happens that this is impossible to do.

Another factor in the fight against cancer is increasing the dose of administered drugs. To completely destroy all cells, you need to apply strong substances to the affected area several times.

However, over time, toxins begin to accumulate in the body, which is also extremely harmful to its health. Therefore, high doses of medication cannot be administered continuously.

We already know that cancer cells are unique, so they cannot be destroyed with one drug. Therefore, oncologists use a mixture of different substances to hit the maximum number of cancer cells.

Having fulfilled all these conditions, a person can recover. But this does not always happen, since each of the described stages is extremely difficult not only in terms of implementation, but also in terms of the patient’s further recovery.

Cancer is a unique phenomenon, and almost every patient needs a different approach and method. That is, creating a universal “cancer pill” is unrealistic, since oncology treatment is a process consisting of many stages.

Now scientists are working to improve each of them.

Alternative medicine

The process of such treatment is not only long and unpleasant, but also very expensive, so many people faced with oncology are trying to find alternative ways to solve this problem.

Every day, hundreds of patients receive from doctors a terrible conclusion - “malignant neoplasm”. At this moment, panic begins: what to do, where to go, what to do. Often people turn to friends for help or try to find information on the Internet.

And there they are bombarded with a lot of “useful” articles and recipes, where they are offered to try “effective” pills that supposedly were used to treat celebrities, or safe folk methods that banish cancer.

And then, due to ignorance or lack of funds for expensive treatment, a person chooses the path of alternative medicine, which does not always end well.

The term “alternative medicine” can mean different things, but officially alternative are methods of treatment that have not been approved by regulatory government bodies or industry professional self-regulation structures that have the appropriate authority.

That is, all diets, dietary supplements, exercise or psychic sessions that have not been tested by regulatory authorities cannot be considered safe and effective in treating diseases, including cancer.

To date, no alternative cancer treatment has undergone clinical trials or the results of these trials have been published in official scientific publications.

The problem of treating cancer with alternative medicine was well discussed by the famous German professor, MD Edzard Ernst:

Any alternative to cancer treatment is a lie by definition. There will never be alternative treatments for cancer. Why? Because if some alternative method looks promising, it will be scientifically tested very quickly and thoroughly, and if its effectiveness is proven, it will automatically cease to be alternative and become medical. All existing “alternative cancer treatments” are based on false claims, are bogus and, I would say, even criminal.

Therefore, no self-respecting oncologist will offer treatment for cancer with folk remedies or other unofficial methods.

Previously, Reedus has already talked about the tricks of scammers who sell dangerous medicines and medical equipment.

Whoever didn't hide, cancer is not to blame

Despite the fact that there is no universal pill or vaccine for cancer, scientists and doctors have invented many effective ways not only to treat oncology, but also to diagnose it early.

Modern medical equipment is able to detect cancer even at an early stage, so patients learn about their problems much earlier than it was 10-15 years ago. But even timely diagnosis cannot always help.

At the current level of life expectancy, 40% of people will sooner or later develop cancer, but this does not mean that this cancer will be the cause of death. To protect yourself from oncology, you need a healthy lifestyle, attentive attitude to yourself and your symptoms, but without cancerophobia and unnecessary unnecessary tests, since good doctors are available, - Mikhail Laskov, oncologist, candidate of medical sciences, head of the Clinic, told Reedus outpatient oncology and hematology.

The prospect is not very cheerful: the appearance of cancer depends on many conditions and, even if you do everything in your power, you cannot be completely sure that the tumor will not “find” you. But, you will agree, it is stupid to sit idly by. After talking with doctors, everyone basically highlighted two rules that should not be neglected.

Of course, these factors cannot guarantee 100% protection against cancer, but these are in fact the most effective ways to fight cancer. If you lead a healthy lifestyle, you expose your body less to factors that influence the formation of cancer. If you undergo medical examinations, you have a chance to diagnose cancer at an early stage, when it can be cured with virtually no consequences. And it’s with the latter that difficulties usually arise, because people put off going to the doctor until the last minute, and this needs to be changed in oneself, one needs to be more attentive to one’s own health,” oncologist Evgeniy Cheremushkin advised readers of Reedus.