World Cancer Day

For some time past, innovations and advances in the development of medicines and; diagnostic methods have resulted in improvements with regard to early cancer detection and therapy. Furthermore, the efficacy and tolerability of these cancer treatments have been enhanced – here’s an overview.

In the 17th century, Wilhelm Fabry (von Hilden) (1560–1634), a major German surgeon of his time and the founder of scientific surgery, begins extracting enlarged lymph nodes during breast surgeries, while Johann Scultetus (1595–1645) focuses on radical mastectomies.

While conducting experiments in 1895, physicist Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the rays that now bear his name (Röntgen is the German word for X-rays). Doctors begin X-raying their patients to detect bone fractures and lung shadows – and notice the effects that rays have on rapidly growing cancer tissue. Just one year later, the first patient is X-rayed – a breast cancer sufferer in the USA. This marks the start of radiooncology.

Dr. Thomas Beatson discovers the stimulating effects of estrogen on breast tumors before the hormone itself is even discovered. His work paves the way for the modern application of hormones and analogues (e.g. Tamoxifen, Taxol) in breast cancer treatment and prevention.

The PAP test created for early cytological detection, based on findings by Dr. George Papanicolaou, opens doors for the early detection of cervical cancer. In West Germany, the incidence of the disease falls by over 60% following the launch of the cytological smear.

After an accident at a nuclear power plant, Georges Mathé performs the first successful bone marrow transplant on physicists who have fallen victim to the harmful radiation. Just 5 years later, Mathé treats the first leukemia patients.

The approval of the first antibody to treat follicular lymphomas marks a new chapter in the fight against lymph node cancer. Alongside radiation therapy and chemotherapy, antibody therapy has been a standard treatment ever since – for lymphomas as well as for breast and colon cancer.

Groundbreaking cancer research using microscopes: Sir Paul M. Nurse, Leland H. Hartwell and Timothy Hunt are awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Their discoveries on controlling the cell cycle make a big impact on all aspects of cell growth. In the long term, this can open up whole new possibilities in cancer treatment.

Harald zur Hausen receives the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery that cervical cancer is triggered by viral infections. His research enables the development of a vaccine against the third most common type of cancer among women.

In 2018, doctors James Allison and Tasuku Honjo receive the Nobel Prize for Medicine for developing immune-based cancer therapies – a milestone in the fight against cancer. They discover that the immune system is capable of attacking cancer cells – provided that the immune cells release their own brakes.

The three researchers from the UK and the US have discovered how molecular mechanisms respond to oxygen levels to regulate the activity of genes, which in turn alter metabolism. Oxygen regulation plays a key role in a wide range of diseases. In tumors, the oxygen regulation system influences the proliferation of cancer cells. Scientific institutions and pharmaceutical companies are therefore working to develop drugs that can activate or block the oxygen regulation system.

Researchers managed to change the genetic makeup of animals, plants and microorganisms with great precision using the CRISPR/Cas technology, commonly referred to as "gene scissors". The Nobel Prize Committee writes that this has revolutionized the life sciences, helped advance cancer therapies, and may help to cure hereditary diseases.