New cancer treatment is now on the way, DIGM tells patients

New cancer treatment is now on the way, DIGM tells patients

Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Patients diagnosed with cancer can enjoy their life longer as
a new cancer treatment called antiangiogenesis will be released
soon, a doctor said on Thursday.

Abraham Simatupang, deputy chairman of Deutsch Indonesische
Gesselschaft fuer Meidzin (DIGM), said antiangiogenesis was
designed to prevent the growth of tumor blood vessels so the
cancerous cells could not metastasize -- spread or develop -- in
the patients' bodies.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the preparation of the
DIGM Annual Meeting which focuses on cancer issues. DIGM is an
association of doctors in Indonesia who have graduated in
Germany.

Cancers are abnormal cells which continue to divide
uncontrollably. Normal cells usually divide only to replace worn-
out or dying cells or to repair damaged cells.

Abraham said that cancer cells often spread systemically
through metastasis -- by entering the bloodstream and lymph
vessels and replaced normal tissue in other parts of the body and
forming a solid tumor.

Cancer cells in the solid and non-solid form (like in leukemia
-- cancer of the blood) would involve the blood and circulate
through other tissues.

"The cancerous cells cannot get the oxygen and nutrients from
blood vessels. They will "starve" and die soon because of that,"
he said describing what happens through angiogenic inhibitors. He
predicted that the inhibitors will be available next year.

Currently, there are some 40 angiogenic inhibitors in clinical
trials conducted by research centers in the U.S. and Europe.

"The inhibitors vary, there are both synthetic and natural
ones. One of the naturally-sourced inhibitors is a substance from
shark's bones," Abraham said.

He added that he did not recommend that pregnant women with
cancer take the angiogenic inhibitors because it could block the
embryogenesis.

Henry Naland, an oncologic surgeon at Mitra Internasional
Hospital who is also a DIGM member, said that the new treatment
could support the current cancer treatment like surgery,
radiation, and chemotherapy.

"It will reduce the risk of cancer cells relapsing," he said.

He predicted that the treatment combination could extend the
five-year relative survival rate of the first degree cancer
patients up to 90 percent.

The five-year relative survival rate is commonly used to
monitor progress of the patients who continue to live five years
after diagnosis, whether they are in remission, disease-free, or
under treatment.

Henry, however, said that early detection of cancer by regular
screening examinations was an important weapon in the fight
against cancer.

"Anyone can get cancer at any age. The sooner a cancer is
found, the sooner the treatment begins, the better a patient's
chances are of a cure," he said.

Henry said that the fourth degree cancer patients only had a
10 percent chance surviving past five years.

He said that the risk of developing cancer can be reduced by
adopting a healthy lifestyle like having enough sleep, doing
workouts, quitting smoking, and eating a healthier diet with lots
of fruit and vegetables.