Bio Spectrum - February 2023

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Leveraging Early Cancer Detection Tech
Cancer is fast turning into an ‘epidemic’ and is the second leading cause of death
globally. As per the Globocan Report of 2020, the annual global burden of cancer
in 2020 in the country had hit the 1.93 crore mark with an annual death of 1 crore.
The projected annual new cases globally will be 2.84 crore in 2040. According to
the same report, the number of new cancer cases in India will be a whopping 17
lakh annually by 2035. In light of such alarming numbers, early detection still holds
the key to cancer prevention. Though several technologies have been launched that
can provide solace to the medical fraternity and patients alike in early detection,
awareness on the disease and pre-testing remains a challenge in India. There are
a few ‘Breakthrough Tech’ that hold a lot of promise. For instance, the Imperial
College London has recently developed a surgical knife capable of identifying
tumours that can detect endometrial cancer within seconds. The surgical knife
could aid the treatment strategies for cancer by enhancing the diagnosis time and
giving the go-ahead for treatment. Let’s explore some notable new technologies
and also try to uncover the challenges in the fight against cancer.