Fight against cancer: AI and new treatments, the latest advances from the ESMO congress

Breastfeeding after breast cancer: a new ray of hope

According to two international studies presented at this major event which brought together more than 30,000 specialist doctors and researchers from around the world, women who breastfeed after receiving treatment for breast cancer do not face an increased risk of recurrence.

This is also true for those carrying a genetic mutation (BRCA) which considerably increases the risk of developing such cancer.

There was previously concern about pregnancy and breastfeeding after the illness, as both involve changes in hormone levels.

“These results are essential for women who want to become pregnant and breastfeed their baby after breast cancer.“, said Fedro Alessandro Peccatori, director of the reproductive unit at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, and co-author of a study.

Dual immunotherapy for lung cancer: a more effective response

In this cancer, immunotherapy, which consists of stimulating the immune system to make it fight against tumors, has already proven its worth.

On Saturday, results from a phase 2 study showed promising results for patients with so-called “non-small cell“metastatic, a disease which affects more than 15,000 people each year in France.

The idea: this time to combine not one but two immunotherapies with chemotherapy.By targeting a second target in the immune system and combining these treatments, it appears that response rates are improved, i.e. the number of patients in whom the tumor shrinks.“, Nicolas Girard, oncologist at the Curie Institute in Paris, told AFP.

Pregnancy-related cancer virtually eradicated thanks to a novel combination

A combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy has shown excellent results against a very rare form of pregnancy-related cancer (1 case per 10,000 pregnancies), which develops from the placenta.

With this combination of treatments, 96% of the cancers in a group of patients were eradicated.”An exceptional result“, rejoiced Benoît You, cancer specialist at the Hospices civiles de Lyon (France), who presented this study.

Artificial intelligence at the service of tailor-made medicine

A “second-generation” artificial intelligence model paved the way for future treatments on Monday. The massive algorithm works from a database of more than a billion tumor images from some 30,000 patients in the United States.

“A change of scale“for this model capable of”detect a number of molecular anomalies and mutations that the human eye is not always able to see“, Fabrice André, director of research at the French anti-cancer center Gustave-Roussy, commented to AFP.

Ultimately, doctors are counting on this AI assistance to be able to offer personalized treatments to each patient.

Hopes for preserving affected organs

Immunotherapy combined with radiotherapy before surgery improves overall survival in a growing number of cancers (breast, bladder, cervical, etc.): this is one of the main messages of the Esmo congress.

But it also seems that treatments given before surgery increasingly allow “preserve organs“during cancer,” explained Fabrice André.However, organ preservation is absolutely essential to have a quality of life that is as close as possible to the norm.” he stressed.

On Monday, a study showed encouraging results on the ability to preserve the rectum in cases of cancer affecting this part of the digestive tract, once treatments have allowed the tumor to completely disappear.

“Until now, the standard was surgery, but it seems that we are entering a new era, in which the operation can be avoided.“, rejoiced David Sebag-Montefiore, oncologist and professor at the University of Leeds (Great Britain).

An advance that could concern other cancers such as those of the ENT or lung sphere.