Cancel Cancer: 5 Promising Updates in Life Sciences

Curing cancer is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The disease costs 10 million people their lives each and every year, and in that sense, it’s something that touches all of us, in some capacity, at some point in our lives.

This month, we want to use our platform to spread awareness of the innovative work our clients and candidates in the Oncology sector do, developing more effective treatments and, hopefully, in the long run, a cure.

mRNA technology became the talk of the town after its proven speed, safety, and ease provided us with vaccines against COVID-19. But, as those in the Oncology sector know, the technology has been around for decades, researched over and over, with the long-term goal of finding a cancer vaccine.

Today, we’re closer to that goal than ever before.

With personalized vaccines being tried and tested time and again, breakthrough research has found that Life Scientists might have just cracked the case, using mRNA technology to find and destroy cancer cells.

Click here to dive into three clinical trials that have led to the most promising results in the field so far?

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As our knowledge of cancer has vastly improved, so has the understanding that there won’t be one single cure. No, patients will instead be treated according to their own unique needs.

That means that as personalized medicine is on its way to becoming a reality, mRNA vaccines aren’t the only therapy in development. In fact, a range of treatments are in the works, covering the whole spectrum of cancer. Below, we dive into four more shaking up the world of R&D...

• There truly is light at the end of the tunnel for alternative cancer therapies! That’s because cancer researchers at the University of East Anglia are edging closer to using LED light to activate antibodies and ultimately fight off the deadly disease

Learn more about how researchers are using LED light to combat cancer

• Another blockbuster discovery is that of extrachromosomal DNA, which scientists describe as acting like Bond villains in the way they help cancer to spread. This breakthrough could transform future treatments as researchers look to block the DNA’s activity and eventually remove it.

Discover more about the newfound extrachromosomal DNA

• CAR-T cell therapy has been researched for some time, taking immune T-cells from patients and genetically engineering them to target a specific antigen. New CAR-T clinical trials have shown impressive results for patients who’ve exhausted all other treatment options.

Find out how CAR-T therapy is changing cancer treatments

• Solid tumors have been an ongoing challenge in numerous cancer therapies. Now, looking at a CRISPR future, smarter gene editing technology could advance current CAR-T therapies to combat those tumors.

Understand how CRISPR technology works and how it’s been used so far

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This research area is undoubtedly one that will continue to innovate, and we can’t wait to see what further developments will happen in the Oncology space.?

We love shouting about the incredible work our community does, so if you’re currently working on something exciting that we’re yet to feature, let us know!?

And lastly, being in the space yourself, you know how important it is to get regularly checked for any changes in your body. With this month's newsletter serving as a reminder, we’ll be urging our friends and family to do the same.

Chat to you soon!

The Meet Team