Cancer research is improving treatment

One size does not fit all when it comes to genetic makeup. Identifying the differences helps doctors come up with tailored treatment for specific cancers.

This is good news in light of estimates that cancer cases are expected to triply by 2030.

Dr. Ana Maria Lopez, medical director of the Arizona Telemedicine Program and a professor of medicine and pathology at the University of Arizona described the cutting edge technology and treatment methods on Tuesday.

“She explained the ‘so what?’ of years of genetic research” and its potential in practical ways of treating certain cancers,” said James Weldon, executive director of the Mariposa Community Health Center.

Lopez, an associate dean for outreach and multicultural affairs at the UA, was the latest guest speaker for the “Mariposa Series,” a fundraiser and community outreach program held at the Quality Inn in Nogales.

Genetics research has come a long way. In 1920, Hans Winkler, a botany professor at the University of Hamburg coined the term “genome,” combining the words gene and chromosome. The term refers to the mapping of an organism’s hereditary information encoded in DNA.

The first bacterial DNA-genome project to be completed was in 1995 on the Haemophilus influenza by a team at� The Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Md.

Until recently, cancer has been detected at its malignant stage. Nearly 15 years after the Rockville project and thanks to the foundation laid by this research, carcinogenesis can be used to detect pre-malignant susceptibility, Lopez said. “These are exciting times.”

The ultimate goal is to realize the concept of “personalized medicine in cancer,” working on the premise that genetic factors influence reaction to drugs, said Lopez a native of Bolivia and the daughter of two pathologists.

Medication that may work successfully to treat an ailment in one person, for example, may not work on someone else.

Pharmacogenomics deals with the influence of genetic variations on drug response. Identifying those influencing factors offers the ability to predict outcomes and then identify a personalized treatment for the patient and minimize adverse side effects, Lopez explained.

“Understanding of the biology of cancer results in improved therapies,” Lopez concluded.

The new treatments have, in some cases, led to cancer remissions that have not been achieved with traditional treatment and drugs.