Removing ‘invisibility cloaks’ and safely skipping chemo: new weapons in war on cancer shared at US conference | Cancer research

Recent medical presentations in Chicago have unveiled a series of high-impact breakthroughs in oncology, ranging from “smart drugs” that unmask tumors to pills that significantly extend survival for the world’s deadliest common cancers. While these advancements signal a shift toward personalized medicine, they are juxtaposed against a looming global healthcare workforce crisis.

The Rise of Smart Drugs and Targeted Therapies

Researchers have introduced an experimental tablet, GRWD5769, designed to strip away the “invisibility cloaks” that cancer cells use to hide from the immune system. By exposing these cells, the drug enables the immunotherapy drug cemiplimab to detect and destroy the cancer.

In a trial involving patients from the UK, France, Spain, and Australia, the combination of GRWD5769 and cemiplimab led to tumor shrinkage in 26 out of 83 patients. Those patients suffered from cervical, bladder, liver, bowel, lung, or head and neck cancers, and 15 of them saw tumor reductions of at least 30%.

Prof Fiona Thistlethwaite, the trial’s principal investigator from the Christie NHS foundation trust in Manchester, described the results as “very impressive” for a tablet. She noted that while further studies are required, the new mechanism clearly enhances the effectiveness of immunotherapy.

Other “smart” innovations include ivonescimab, which blocks the “off” switch tumors use to evade the immune system, helping lung cancer patients live an average of 15% longer. A drug called ozekibart mimics natural proteins to trigger the death of cancer cells in bowel cancer patients while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.

Breakthroughs in Survival Rates

A significant development in pancreatic cancer treatment has emerged with the pill daraxonrasib. In a trial of 500 patients with spread pancreatic cancer, the drug doubled survival time to an average of 13.2 months, compared to 6.6 to 6.7 months for those receiving chemotherapy.

Dr Rachna Shroff, chief of oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer centre, called these results “landscape-changing” and described the survival rates as “unprecedented.” The study was led by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Similarly, a new treatment called mezigdomide is showing promise for incurable blood cancer. When used as part of a triple therapy for multiple myeloma, it acts like a magnet to degrade proteins vital for cancer cell survival, allowing patients to live more than twice as long without the disease progressing.

Precision Medicine and Treatment Avoidance

The shift toward personalized medicine is also enabling some patients to avoid aggressive treatments. The Optima trial, led by University College London and involving 4,000 breast cancer patients across several countries, utilized a genomic test to identify those who could safely skip chemotherapy.

Patients with low scores on this test were found to be treated safely using hormone therapy alone. In other developments, researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, found that adding durvalumab to chemotherapy and radiotherapy could reduce the risk of bladder cancer returning while sparing patients from “life-changing” surgery.

Systemic Risks and the Workforce Crisis

Despite the clinical wins, experts warned of a growing “cancer workforce crisis.” A report presented in Chicago predicts a 21% increase in cancer incidence, rising from 165 per 100,000 people in 2025 to 200 per 100,000 by 2050.

By 2050, global diagnoses could top 35.3 million annually, averaging 100,000 cases a day. Dr Peter Kingham of Memorial Sloan Kettering emphasized that because cancer is “fundamentally a disease of ageing,” the rising global life expectancy demands an ambitious response in care delivery.

Not all experimental tools met their goals. The Galleri multi-cancer early detection blood test, which screened 142,000 NHS patients in the UK, failed to meet its primary objective of reducing late-stage cancer diagnoses.

Lifestyle Factors and Early-Onset Trends

Data suggests a worrying trend in early-onset cancer. Between 1990 and 2019, worldwide cases in people under 50 rose from 1.82 million to 3.26 million, with deaths in this age group increasing by 27%.

Research involving 18 million US adults aged 18 to 50 suggests that poor sleeping patterns and insomnia may be contributing factors, particularly for bowel, breast, uterine, or ovarian cancers. In some instances, those with insomnia were three times more likely to develop cancer within five years.

Conversely, supportive therapies are showing benefits. A study found that regular gentle hatha and restorative yoga could reduce anxiety, fatigue, and insomnia for cancer survivors, who often experience these disturbances without the need for medication.

Future Outlook

The trajectory of cancer care may move toward a heavier reliance on genomic testing to streamline treatment paths and reduce unnecessary chemotherapy. However, the success of these therapies could be hindered if the predicted workforce shortage is not addressed.

Future strategies are likely to place a higher premium on prevention, focusing on healthier diets and the reduction of sedentary lifestyles to curb the rising incidence of the disease.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GRWD5769 and how does it work?

GRWD5769 is an experimental tablet that removes “invisibility cloaks” from tumor cells. This exposes the cancer to the immune system, allowing an immunotherapy drug called cemiplimab to detect and destroy the tumors.

How effective was the drug daraxonrasib in pancreatic cancer trials?

In a trial of 500 patients, daraxonrasib doubled survival time for those with spread pancreatic cancer, with patients living an average of 13.2 months compared to 6.6 to 6.7 months for those on chemotherapy.

What was the result of the Galleri blood test trial?

The trial involving 142,000 NHS patients in the UK failed to meet its primary endpoint, which was to reduce the number of late-stage cancer diagnoses.

Do you believe the focus of healthcare investment should shift more toward workforce expansion or the development of automated diagnostic tools?