Monday, June 7, 2010

Proof that the UK > US

Cancer Research UK, the leading cancer charity in the United Kingdom, has begun a project to analyze tumors of cancer patients to cover a wide array of genetic defects. In doing so, they hope to provide individualized therapy for the patients, especially when it comes to medication. By implementing breakthrough discoveries in the field of pharmacogenetics, the centers around the country hope to catalog and classify the tumor according to specific genetic mutations that it carries. Then, using new-age cancer drugs that target specific genetic mutations in cancerous cells, the doctors can avoid expensive treatments that will provide little benefit. The major difference between cancer knowledge ten years ago and cancer knowledge now is that enough genetic markers and drugs have been discovered so that being tested is much more likely to give useful information. The main goal of this new initiative seems to be to cut cost from the British National Health Service, allow for more effective treatments in patients, and build a database of different types of cancer and how effective certain treatments are against each type.

Honestly, I feel the article is being a little optimistic. While certain drugs like Herceptin are mentioned in the article and are certainly effective, most of them are antibodies and cancers can develop a resistance to them like any other drug. Furthermore, such treatments are expensive and may have trouble dealing with the early stages of breast cancer. Finally, the NHS which is overseeing the program is a government run, publically funded healthcare system, meaning that it is an extension of government bureaucracy and that late stage cancers (which these specially developed drugs are most effective against) may claim the patient’s life while waiting for treatment. Another problem that may arise is that a program like this needs time to show its effectiveness as the staff running the centers may not have a large amount of experience in dealing with the work involved in testing all of these patients; as a pilot scheme, it may only last one or two years until the Department of Health decides that it is not showing enough results and shut it down.

Even still, the benefits of the program are substantial if it is successfully implemented. Pharmacogenetics has been a booming field ever since the human genome was unlocked. Successful application and testing of drugs developed through this principle serves to further enrich the field and may lead to the ultimate goal of cheap, personalized drugs for the average citizen. If such a program were implemented in the United States, it might bring even more benefits as the overall cancer rate in the US is much higher than that in the UK. If future advances in pharmacogenetics and stratified medicines continue at their current pace, it might be plausible to eventually have a cure for most common types of cancers.

Sources Used:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/10224252.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trastuzumab

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service_(England)

http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/STT/content/STT_1x_Cancer_Facts_Figures_2010.asp

http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/incidence/commoncancers/index.htm

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