- According to the WHO, tumors are responsible for almost 10 million deaths globally and the trend continues to rise.
- The first documented case of cancer in history occurred in Egypt and belongs to two pharaonic-era mummies who lived in approximately 2,000 BC.
- Although there are many drugs in development against cancer, for one to become a reality, a long process must be overcome.
New diseases appear constantly in the world that are the object of study. At the same time, there is one that has existed for thousands of years and is surrounded by mysteries. Its about cancer and due to its high impact there are multiple medications for its care that are in development and very soon they could be a reality.
In this sense, in order to come up with a new drug it is mandatory to follow a strict process that can last for decades. It all starts with preclinical research and then moves on to testing on laboratory animals. Then follow clinical trials that are divided into three stages to identify the usefulness of the formula.
On the other hand, something very important is to understand the concept of cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that it is a A group of diseases that can originate in almost any organ or tissue in the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably.
The first documented cases in history
In 2019, what until now remains the first identified case of any type of tumor was announced. A work carried out by the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa found the first indications. This is osteosarcoma, identified in the remains of a hominid that lived 1.7 million years ago.
Another example that it is a malaise that has never disappeared can be seen with a work done by a team of anthropologists from the University of Granada (UGr), located in Spain. The specialists traveled to the city of Qubbet el Hawa, in Egypt, and there they discovered two mummies from the pharaonic era that lived approximately in the year 2 thousand BC When analyzed, they detected that they died from breast cancer.
In this case, to carry out the analysis, the researchers used CT scans, technique considered one of the most modern and that allows to obtain precise results. In this sense, it was announced that a state-of-the-art scanner was used that is capable of performing 124 simultaneous tomographic cuts.
Cancer drugs in development
As already indicated above, tumors can develop in any organ or tissue in the human body. Therefore, specific treatments are needed for each type. With this in mind, there are some that generate more interest among scientists.
In this regard, a study by the American Cancer Society (ACS) identified the 10 tumors for which there are more drugs, treatments and vaccines in development. What is striking is that the first position is for the leukemia because there are a total of 145 right now.
The second position in the list is for the tumors in the lungs because there are 141 treatments in development. In fact, it remains one of the deadliest neoplasms in the world, and in part this is because most cases are diagnosed in advanced stages.
The other tumors that complement the first five places are lymphoma (129), hematological (109) and breast (108). In all cases there is research underway to find new treatments that help affected patients.
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