Articles
Cancer and the immune system: turning insights into treatments
The vision of harnessing our immune systems to fight cancer has been tantalising scientists and doctors for more than a century. The idea had a strong scientific rationale: over millions of years our immune systems have evolved intricate and multi-layered…
Tackling cancer when there’s no functioning state: the Al-Amal model
Six years ago, Mada accompanied her daughter to the gynaecologist for an early pregnancy scan. Whilst she was there, the physician suggested Mada herself get a check-up. “The doctor at first thought I had a very large cyst on my…
Addressing the pathological hole at the core of many LMIC cancer plans
A patient visits their local primary care facility with symptoms that could indicate a possible cancer. What happens next could determine their chances of survival. In the event that it turns out to be a cancer, a quick and accurate…
How organoids could help match treatments to tumours
When diagnosed with cancer, few things are more important than having confidence that the treatment you are prescribed is the best possible option for you. For many cancers, particularly the more common ones, the evidence for choosing one option over…
Delivering cervical cancer screening across India: the plan… and the practice
Gynaecologist Shalini Singh remembers the Pap smears she carried out until around twenty years ago, when she was working at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences, in New Delhi. “We had about 15 Pap smear bottles per day…
Getting the message across: we need to learn from the Covid experience
One of the big lessons of the Covid pandemic has been the critical importance of good communication – how challenging it is to get complex medical information across to the general public, and the damage that poor communication can do.…
Begging for imatinib: why do so many patients still lack access to this lifesaver?
Following doctor’s orders doesn’t usually mean making a two-hour round trip to visit your hospital twice a week to beg for any spare medication on the off-chance that someone has had to change to a different drug, or was able…
A call to action: how Poland is stepping up for Ukraine’s cancer patients
February 24, 2022. Julia, a lawyer living near Kiev, is counting down the days until her last chemo. After which she will still face surgery and radiation therapy on her way to recovering from breast cancer. Before dawn, she wakes…
Unicorns for Ukraine: mobilising to meet patients’ changing cancer care needs
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, consultant clinical oncologist Mohammed Hojouj put out a call for help: “Cancers do not stop growing because there is a war. But cancer patients stop being seen as a priority.” The story he…
Long-term health: is it time to update the priorities of cancer research?
“I was told that cancer was a temporary condition ‒ just get through treatment and things will go back to normal. I quickly realised that this is not true.” Gregory Aune was treated for Hodgkin’s disease when he was 17.…