11 January 2024 , 15:09
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New research revealed today has said that the UK has some of the worst cancer survival rates in the developed world.
Out of 33 countries of comparable wealth and income levels, the UK ranks as low as 28th for five-year survival of both stomach and lung cancer, 26th for pancreatic cancer, 25th for brain cancer and 21st and 16th for liver and oesophageal cancers respectively. According to Cancer Research UK, the 167,000 people who die of cancer in the UK every year are projected to rise by almost a quarter by 2040.
But it is not all doom and gloom, with The Week outlining five positive breakthroughs we saw in 2023 with detection and cure of the deadly disease. Here are some of the latest discoveries:
Loyalty cards to detect cancer
In a surprising move, tracking what shoppers buy, via loyalty-card data, may help spot those with early signs of ovarian cancer, doctors who have been running a study said last year.
Almost 95% of patients diagnosed with stage one ovarian cancer will survive for five or more years, but it is one of the most difficult to detect early. There is no reliable screening test and the symptoms, such as bloating, can be vague and confused with other common, harmless conditions. Researchers at Imperial College London found frequent purchases of over-the-counter painkillers and indigestion tablets revealed a higher risk of ovarian cancer, a report published in The BMJ said.
Warning as popular food and drink ‘increase risk of cancer death by up to 30%’
The UK has some of the worst cancer survival rates in the developed world (Getty Images)Ants to sniff out cancer
For the first time last year, experts found that ants can detect the scent of cancer in urine. Dr Baptiste Piqueret, of the Sorbonne Paris North University, had already trained ants to distinguish between healthy cells and cancerous cells grown in a culture. In findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, he found out if they could do the same for a real tumour.
His team of researchers exposed 70 ants to urine samples from mice with, and without, tumours that had been transplanted from human cells. After three trials, the ants were able to tell the difference between the urine odour of healthy mice from that of mice with tumours. By contrast, it can take six months to train a dog. The researchers want to see if the ants can do the same for human urine next.
More extensive studies are needed to verify the findings, but the authors hope it will be possible to use such data to create an alert system that would urge women to consult their GPs if they appear to be suffering from symptoms of ovarian cancer.
'Bond villain' DNA that could transform treatment
Scientists discovered pieces of DNA last year that "behave like Bond villains" by helping cancers to spread which could transform treatment.
Tumours occur when a cell begins to act abnormally and divides uncontrollably. Resistance to treatment is common and scientists from Queen Mary’s University now think genetic particles called extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA), or genetic villains, are to blame. Professor Paul Mischel of California’s Stanford University said the discovery of ecDNA is a "game changer." He continued: "If we can block their activities, we can block the spread of these cancers."
Scientists discovered pieces of DNA last year that "behave like Bond villains" (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Cancer vaccine trial
After decades of limited success, scientists say research has reached a turning point, with many predicting more vaccines will be out in five years.
The German firm BioNTech is going into partnership with the UK Government to deliver personalised immunotherapies for up to 10,000 NHS patients. The "potentially groundbreaking" cancer vaccines will be based on the technology used to create the Pfizer Covid jab, said The Times.
Drugmakers Moderna and Merck are jointly developing a personalized mRNA vaccine for patients with melanoma, with a large study to begin this year. The vaccines are customised to each patient, based on the numerous mutations in their cancer tissue. A vaccine personalized in this way can train the immune system to hunt for the cancer’s mutation fingerprint and kill those cells. Chemotherapy kills healthy cells along with cancer, but these vaccine treatments would prepare the immune system with genetic code from the patient’s specific cancer so it attacks only the tumour.
Fingerprint test for breast cancer
A fingerprint test could be used to screen women for breast cancer as a trial of 15 women used sweat proteins to help with detection with a high degree of accuracy.
Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University used a technology called Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (MALDI MS) to analyse fingerprint smears from patients with benign, early or metastatic breast cancer. The technology was able to predict the category of cancer with an accuracy rate of almost 98%
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Current methods of screening and detection are effective, but they can be uncomfortable for patients. The team said their trial had only provided proof of concept but hoped to now take their research to the next stage.