‘Immunotherapy may replace chemotherapy in 10 years’

At a time when medical oncology, surgical oncology and radiation therapy are widely used for treating cancer,

immunotherapy

offers a flicker of hope for patients. Once confined to western countries, it is now available in tier-2 cities like Madurai, say experts who took part in a one-day symposium here on Saturday.

Immunotherapy or biologic therapy boosts the body’s natural defences to fight cancer. Doctors said that the method held much promise as it can also improve the efficiency of other cancer treatments. It causes fewer side effects since it targets just the immune system and not all the cells in the body.

Dr Krishnakumar Rathinam, head of the department of medical oncology, Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre and organizing secretary of the symposium, ‘Expert Insights in Oncology, 2018’, said that chemotherapy may become a thing of the past in a decade or so at this rate of advancement in immunotherapy.

Over 100 delegates from the state, including the president of the state medical oncology association, Dr K Kalaichelvi, took part in the symposium. Dr Krishnakumar Rathinam said that breast cancer had emerged as the most prevalent cancer among women, beating uterus cancer. Worldwide, one in eight women stood the risk of developing breast cancer. On the other hand, 85% of cancer among men was due to tobacco usage, he said. Although there were many causes for breast cancer, the consumption of fat-rich milk was seen as an important reason for it, he said.

The fat-rich milk available now contained oestrogen, a steroid hormone. The higher the fat, higher the content of oestrogen. In olden days, oestrogen was lesser in milk due to lesser fat content. Life style modification and unhealthy food habits also caused breast cancer. Dr K S Krishnakumar, a medical oncologist, said that due to stigma and fear of treatment, hardly a few turned up for checkup and treatment for cancer. Early intervention could make a big difference in treatment, he insisted.