Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy

Oncology Research and Therapeutics

Oncology Research and Therapeutics focus on understanding cancer biology and developing innovative treatments to improve patient outcomes. In the short term, advancements in cancer research are accelerating progress in diagnostics, therapeutics, and personalized medicine.

Key Areas of Oncology Research:

1. Molecular and Genetic Understanding:

   • Identifying genetic mutations, oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes driving cancer progression.
   • Exploring tumor microenvironment and immune system interactions.

2. Early Detection and Biomarkers:

   • Developing liquid biopsies to detect circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) or cancer biomarkers in blood.
   • Improving imaging technologies for earlier and more accurate diagnosis.

Emerging Therapeutics in Oncology:

1. Immunotherapy:

   • Checkpoint Inhibitors: Drugs targeting PD-1, PD-L1, or CTLA-4 pathways to unleash the immune response against cancer.
   • CAR-T Cell Therapy: Engineering T cells to specifically attack cancer cells, showing success in blood cancers.
   • Cancer Vaccines: Personalized vaccines stimulating immune responses to tumor-specific antigens.

2. Targeted Therapy:

   • Small-molecule inhibitors targeting specific mutations, such as EGFR inhibitors for lung cancer or HER2 inhibitors for breast cancer.
   • PARP inhibitors for cancers with BRCA mutations.

3. Precision Medicine:

   • Tailoring treatments based on a patient’s genetic profile and the molecular characteristics of their tumor