But whole new disciplines are likely to emerge, such as PreOncology, a new service that offers very early, comprehensive, cancer screening through primary care physicians (PCPs).
“The number of oncology cases is not declining, unlike cardiology and other conditions,” Jose Barreau, MD, one of PreOncology’s co-founders, told Inside Precision Medicine.
The most common new cancer cases in 2024 were in: lung, breast, colon and rectum, prostate, skin (non-melanoma), and stomach.
The rise of certain cancers in young adults, such as colorectal cancer and lung cancer in non-smoking, younger women, has been particularly alarming.
Cancer screening is still largely based on age and averages, and many cancers have no routine screening at all.
Cancer will touch 92% of people, either directly or through a close family member, the World Health Organization’s latest annual report on cancer warns. One in five people will develop the disease themselves. The report also found widespread global inequities in access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.
This global view of cancer occurrence, diagnosis, and treatment, comes at a time when some in industry feel oncology is undergoing some dramatic technological transformations. Companies positioned to help spark change in how we meet the growing challenge of cancer around the world include those that provide direct to consumer genomic (e.g. Grail) or MRI (e.g. Prenuvo) testing for the disease. But whole new disciplines are likely to emerge, such as PreOncology, a new service that offers very early, comprehensive, cancer screening through primary care physicians (PCPs). PreOncology launched in Florida July 1.
“The number of oncology cases is not declining, unlike cardiology and other conditions,” Jose Barreau, MD, one of PreOncology’s co-founders, told Inside Precision Medicine. “Primary care doctors in particular, can use help with these patients.”
It is estimated there will be 20.6M cases of cancer and 10M deaths from the disease every year going forward. The number of cancer patients worldwide is expected to rise to nearly 35M cases by 2050. The report emphasizes inequities and points out that in developed countries, 85% of patients with breast or childhood cancers will survive at least five years. But in poorer countries that figure drops to less than 30%.
Approximately 38% of cancers can currently be prevented by avoiding risk factors, such as tobacco and alcohol, eating well and exercising, and implementing existing other “evidence-based prevention strategies,” WHO said.
But the rate of cancer and cancer deaths can also be reduced through early detection and appropriate treatment and care of patients: Many cancers have a very high cure rate if diagnosed early and treated appropriately.
The most common new cancer cases in 2024 were in: lung, breast, colon and rectum, prostate, skin (non-melanoma), and stomach. While the most common causes of cancer death last year were: Lung, colon and rectum, liver, breast, and stomach. All of which can be detected early using advanced diagnostics, but they are almost almost only screened for in older adults.
The incidence of cancer rises dramatically with age, but it is also a leading cause of death among children and adolescents. WHO reports that it is estimated that each year approximately 400,000 children and adolescents develop cancer. The rise of certain cancers in young adults, such as colorectal cancer and lung cancer in non-smoking, younger women, has been particularly alarming.
Cancer screening is still largely based on age and averages, and many cancers have no routine screening at all. But early screening proponents, such as PreOncology have integrated advanced technologies and proprietary AI to establish ways to accurately identify cancers as early as stage I, or the Alpha stage. This is when they are usually curable by the simplest means, and chemotherapy or other harsh treatments may be avoided.
PreOncology “looks at each person’s unique risk profile, from genetics and family history to lifestyle, to create a personalized monitoring plan,” the company said in a recent press release. An oncologist-led Signal Board reviews any concerning findings and helps guide physicians on the next steps. The goal is to detect cancer at the earliest point where something impactful can be done and when there are still the most options.
Cancer is the first or second leading cause of death, depending on which statistics you use.
The start-up has a risk engine drawing on ~3.1M de-identified patient records from the studies behind national screening guidelines. Its lung model alone was modeled on 611,000+ people. The program’s whole genome sequencing component covers 61 cancer-related genes. Ambry genomics does the sequencing. The program also comprises whole-body MRIs and a variety of liquid biopsy type tests, CT-DNA, circulating tumor cells.
“There is a lot of emerging technology and early detection coming to market. Some of it is not FDA-approved, but it’s being advertised to physicians, and we can take advantage of that,” Barreau said.
To tie it all together, he added, “We have the deep medical oncology expertise to interpret and understand all this data in the context of any patient’s specific circumstances.”
Will such new approaches, along with new treatments such as cancer vaccines, be the basis for a new age of oncology? Let’s hope, as the rise in global prevalence of cancer continues.
