The approach to treating cancer has evolved considerably in recent decades. Once considered a death sentence, cancer can now be treated using a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy depending on the type of cancer and how advanced it is. 

 

In the last few years, immunotherapy has come under the spotlight as researchers discovered ways to employ our body's immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells. One of the reasons our bodies struggle with cancer is because cancer cells have a way of evading destruction by our natural immune system. Immunotherapy aims to restore its ability to do so. 

 

There are, however, limits to these treatments. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy, for instance, are not able to kill cancer tumours without destroying healthy cells. Fortunately, nanotechnology is paving the way for more precise treatment methods, for example, by guiding drugs to selectively target cancer cells. The emergence of a new class of medicine called radiopharmaceuticals now enables radiation drugs to track down cancer cells and deliver radiation directly to them. 

In addition, scientists are working on cancer vaccines as a form of immunotherapy. Moderna and BioNTech have been conducting researches on cancer vaccines using the mRNA technology for years. With their success in COVID-19 vaccines, it could mean that cancer vaccines will become a reality in the near future. 

Want to know more about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and how it can benefit your health? Tune in to the monthly webinar series by TCM lecturers at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Malaysia. In the month of June, they will be covering "Cognition, Treatment and Prevention of Sinusitis". Click here to register.