Secrets of Cancer

Introduction

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four Cypriots has the risk of developing cancer before the age of 75.

But there’s hope. Innovative therapies are empowering people all over the world to defeat cancer and live longer. And new therapies continue to emerge.

The Swiss Medical Clinics of Cyprus, in association with RGCC Group, a worldwide personalized medicine organization, is presenting a series of medical briefs on cancer.

The goal of these briefs is to help you understand the medical nature of cancer, its impact on daily life, and to also present innovative cancer therapies that are available today.

Every week, we’ll post a new video, so please come back.

For now, continue to read and also click on the video link to here directly from RGGC

Medical Brief #1: The Nature of Cancer

Cancer isn’t a single condition, but a name given to over 200 different forms of the disease.

The human body is built from cells. In a healthy body, these cells grow and divide in a controlled way, restoring any damage to our bodies.

Cancer begins when the cells within the body begin to grow or divide abnormally.

Abnormal cell growth can cause tumours to grow in the body.

If left untreated, cancer cells can sometimes spread, invading surrounding tissues – a process called metastasis.

Advances in cancer detection and treatment mean that cancer survival rates for all forms of the disease continue to improve.

To watch how cancer starts and grows, click on the image below to watch the video:

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Medical Brief #2: How Tumor Cells in the Bloodstream Spread Cancer

Cancer begins when healthy cells in the body mutate or get damaged. As a result, these cell multiply uncontrollably, and they form a cancerous tumour.

As the tumour grows, cancerous cells can break away from the tumour. In turn, they change in shape and appearance, and they can be carried through the bloodstream or lymph system to other parts of the body.

And when they reach these other parts of the body, these cancerous cells can form new tumour.

These cells are called circulating tumour cells or CTCs. And it is these very cells that allow advanced cancer tests to detect cancer at a very early stage.

Through a pioneering medical method called a liquid biopsy, we now have the potential to identify Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) in the bloodstream and help identify certain cancers before symptoms appear. 

More on the liquid biopsy method in our next brief.

To watch how tumor cells in the blood spread cancer, click on the image below to watch the video:

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Medical Brief #3: Early Detection of Cancer with Liquid Biopsy

The earlier we can detect cancer, the more lives can be saved.

This is a very simple, yet extremely powerful approach to personal health.

According to a 2019 study published in the British Medical Journal, “For most cancers, survival at one and five years is much higher if the cancer is detected early (at stage 1) than if it is detected later.”

And the World Health Organization adds that, “Early diagnosis of cancer focuses on detecting symptomatic patients as early as possible, so they have the best chance for successful treatment.

“When cancer care is delayed or inaccessible there is a lower chance of survival, greater problems associated with treatment and higher costs of care.”

The natural question that arises then is “How can I detect cancer early for myself and loved ones?”

The answer is liquid biopsy.

Liquid biopsy is a non-invasive blood test that detects circulating tumour cells and circulating free DNA in the blood.

This innovative diagnostic test involves taking a blood sample from the patient and sending it to the lab.

At the lab, the patient’s blood is tested for cancer-related traces circulating in the blood.

The early detection of cancer through a liquid biopsy can dramatically increase the survival rates of patients.

A liquid biopsy can also be used to identify, analyse and monitor certain types of cancer, which help to understand how cancer progresses and how to find the best treatment for a particular patient.

Thanks to cutting-edge diagnostic test of liquid biopsy more people than ever are surviving cancer.

To watch a brief video on liquid biopsy, click on image below:

 
Play Video

Medical Brief #4: SOT, a New Cancer Therapy with a 77% Effectiveness Rate

Every time a new cancer therapy comes along that can help three out of four patients in some way, that is a happy occasion for patients, their families and the treating doctor.

The advanced form of cancer treatment therapy we are referring to is called supportive oligonucleotide therapy (SOT).

Acting as a “shutoff key,” SOT disrupts the replication and survival of cancer cells, preventing them from growing or spreading.

According to a study by our personalised-medicine partner RGCC, “Cancer patients treated with the highly targeted supportive oligonucleotide therapy (SOT) showed benefits in 77% of cases.” This study was published in 2022 in the In Vivo Journal.

Here are some of the highlights from the stud:

  • 42% of the patients used SOT therapy on its own, while 58% of patients used SOT therapy in combination with other treatments.
  • Every patient’s SOT therapy was personalised after a liquid biopsy was performed.
  • Some cancers seemed to respond better to SOT therapy. Patients with leukaemia had a 100% response. Patients with prostate cancer a 95.00% response, colorectal cancer 88.00%, and breast cancer 81.00%.
  • No adverse effects were reported from the SOT treatment.

Even though the study is small and more clinical studies are needed the SOT therapy for cancer is very encouraging.

RGCC is at the forefront of new developments in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Patients can get access to SOT therapy through their global network, which includes Cyprus.