本期节目由Keith Flaherty博士主讲，他是麻省总医院癌症中心临床研究主任。节目深入探讨了癌症的流行病学，强调了有效治疗和早期检测的重要性。Flaherty博士回顾了癌症治疗的历史，重点介绍了过去十年中取得的显著进展，为未来发展奠定了基础。他还详细介绍了免疫疗法的潜力，以及如何对抗癌症的逃逸策略，同时也指出了特异性、成本和可扩展性方面存在的挑战。此外，节目还强调了早期检测方法（如液体活检）的重大进步，这些方法不仅可以检测早期癌症，还可以确定癌症的可能起源组织。

🩺 癌症发病率随年龄增长而增加，早期检测和有效治疗至关重要。节目中提到了癌症与年龄的关系，以及癌症与其他主要死因的比较。

💡 过去十年，癌症治疗取得了显著进展，为未来带来了希望。节目回顾了癌症治疗的历史，并重点介绍了近年来取得的显著进步。

🛡️ 免疫疗法在对抗癌症方面具有巨大潜力。节目详细介绍了免疫疗法的原理，以及如何对抗癌症的逃逸策略，并讨论了相关挑战。

🔬 液体活检等早期检测方法取得了重大突破。这些方法不仅可以检测早期癌症，还可以确定癌症的可能起源组织，从而提高生存率。

💰 癌症治疗面临特异性、成本和可扩展性等方面的挑战。节目中讨论了这些挑战，以及如何解决癌症护理方面的差距。

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode

Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content

Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter

Keith Flaherty is the director of clinical research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and a previous guest on The Drive. In this episode, Keith first delves into the statistics on cancer's prevalence as we age, underscoring the significance of finding effective treatments and early detection methodologies. He touches on the history of cancer therapeutics and illuminates the notable enhancements in cancer therapy within the last decade that are setting the stage for a promising future. He goes into detail on the potential of immunotherapy and therapies that can combat cancer’s evasive tactics while explaining some of the existing challenges around specificity, cost, and scalability. Additionally, Keith highlights the significant leap in early detection methodologies, namely liquid biopsies, which have the potential not only to determine if a cancer is present in an early stage, but also identify the possible tissue of origin.

We discuss:

Keith’s interest and expertise in cancer [3:15]; Cancer deaths by decade of life, and how cancer compares to other top causes of death [7:00]; The relationship between hormones and cancer [12:00]; The link between obesity and cancer [18:45]; Current state of treatments for metastatic cancer and reasons for the lack of progress over the decades [22:30]; The interplay between the immune system and cancer cells [32:00]; Different ways cancer can suppress the immune response, and how immunotherapy can combat cancer’s evasive tactics [39:30]; Elimination of a substantial portion of cancers through immune cell engineering faces challenges of specificity, cost, and scalability [52:15]; Why TIL therapy isn’t always effective, and the necessity for multimodal therapy to address various aspects of the cancer microenvironment [1:01:00]; Potential developments in cancer therapy over the next five years: T-cell activation, metabolic interventions, targeting tumor microenvironments, and more [1:06:30]; The challenge of treating metastatic cancer underscores the importance of early detection to improve survivability [1:19:15]; Liquid biopsies for early detection of cancer and determining the possible tissue of origin [1:24:45]; Commercially available cancer screening tests [1:33:45]; How to address the disparity in cancer care, and the exciting pace of progress for cancer detection and treatment [1:40:15]; and More.

Connect With Peter on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube