Monday 21 September 2015

Nasopharyngeal Cancer – What is Coming Down the Pipeline?

Nasopharyngeal Cancer occurs in the upper region of the throat or pharynx, located near the skull base and posterior to the nose. The chamber is known as the nasopharynx and hence the name for the cancer that afflicts the area. Although, both benign and malignant tumors have been witnessed in the region, the tendency of malignant cancers to invade the surrounding tissues continues to be a matter of concern as always.

Existing Ways of Treatment
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Nasopharyngeal Cancer has been treated through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and targeted therapy. As is the norm in case of cancer, the effectiveness of the treatment primarily depends on the stage of the ailment. The aforementioned treatments are generally combined to combat the disease and treat the patient.

New Breakthroughs in Treatment:
The newest treatment that has brought hope to the medical community has been the novel method of engineering immune cells genetically. Simply put, these special T-cells are able to fight the cancer cells. The Epstein-Barr virus is used as a catalyst in this new immune therapy. Though earlier advances in this direction had been curtailed due to generation of unsatisfactory immune cells, the newest method aims to generate such cells faster and combat the disease better.

Clinical Trial Awaits the Immune Based Therapy:
Using the success of a similar treatment for leukemia as a vantage point, scientists are hopeful of engineering an effective treatment. The use of these specific combat cells could possibly be the essential breakthrough that patients need. For instance, this treatment, if approved, could significantly help the population of Southeast China who are most afflicted by this disease.

Other Advances:

While vaccines are being engineered to prevent the disease, there have also been other endeavors to slow the progression of the cancer. The crux still lies in early detection of the disease. Newer surgical techniques and radiation therapy provide some relief. Fresh research into an ongoing gene therapy also holds promise.

Report on the Nasopharyngeal Cancer Pipeline for H1 2015, available on RS Marketinsights, provides detailed information on key players involved in the development of the rapeutics for Nasopharyngeal Cancer. It tracks the pipeline products across various stages from pre-registration to discovery and provides a detailed assessment of monotherapy and combination therapy pipeline projects.