By Armita Rohani
With almost 17 million people being diagnosed with cancer every year and 10 million of them dying annually, the demand for a cure towards cancer has been going on for decades. However, the question is: when will it finally be a reality?
It is important to realize that cancer is not one disease, but rather a general term for over 200 subtypes. These subtypes have their own mutations, cell structure, and dividing rate. Not every cancer cell within the same tumor has the same genetic information, so therefore treatments may affect some cells, but not all. Different mutations occur as well, which allow some to spread faster than others and affect the impact of medications administered to them. This allows cancer cells to evolve in a way in which treatments will have no impact on them, making them fatal.
However, researchers from Stanford University have developed a compound called EBC-46 that breaks apart the tumor’s blood vessels and destroys the cancerous cells. It has been tested on mast cell cancers in dogs, boasting a 75% cure rate after one injection and an 88% rate after the second. The good news with this is that EBC-46 can be easily made by synthesizing an abundant plant-based material called protein kinase C (PKC). Nonetheless, Worldwide Cancer Research has started research on curing 26 types of cancers in 2022, including leukemia, melanoma and breast cancers in over 12 countries. This has all been made possible through the extensive funding and donations from the public.
While the reduction of mortality rates have been drastically reduced, we may never have a definitive cure for cancer. Different mutations may occur over time, and there may be ones that we cannot effectively treat. The big image and goal through all of this is to create an emphasis on preventative measures and stopping relapses, depriving cancer of the chance to become immune to treatments.
