Dr. Krish Patel, Dr. Erika Hamilton, Dr. Vivek Subbiah and Dr. Meredith McKean discuss their recap of cancer research and developments for 2024 and what’s ahead for 2025.
At the beginning of 2024, the American Cancer Society predicted that 2,001,140 new cancer cases and 611,720 cancer deaths would occur in the United States.
Now, as the year draws to a close, experts are looking back and reflecting on the discoveries and advances that have been made in the field of cancer treatment and prevention.
Fox News Digital spoke with four oncologists from the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, Tennessee, about the most notable accomplishments of 2024 and what they see on the horizon for 2025.
See the answers and questions below.
Krish Patel, M.D., is director of lymphoma research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. (Sarah Cannon Research Institute )
Q: What do you see as the most important cancer advances in 2024?
A: In the field of lymphomas, we see growing momentum for therapies that use the patient’s own immune system to fight their cancer, such as CAR T-cell therapy and bispecific antibodies. These are treatments that are now being studied and are making an impact earlier in the disease course, including one now being studied as the very first treatment a patient might receive for their lymphoma. These treatments are helping us to be less dependent on chemotherapies (which may be effective but have broad side effects) for the treatment of lymphomas.
Q: What are your predictions for cancer research in 2025?
A: Every year we are improving the curative treatment options we have for specific types of lymphomas, such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), which is the most common lymphoma we see. We are also gradually becoming better able to offer these treatments closer to – or in – patients’ homes and communities, so they can receive the best care as close to home as possible. “Every year, we are improving the curative treatment options we have for specific types of lymphomas.” I believe that in 2025, we will continue to see more advancement in immunotherapies, development of more targeted therapies (including oral medicines), and hopefully soon the approval of next generations of immunotherapies that may work for patients who have already received today’s immunotherapies but need more treatment options.
Q: How has the state of cancer in your specialty area changed and evolved over the past decade?
A: It has changed and evolved dramatically. A decade ago, care for lymphomas was primarily chemotherapy-based. Now, we are shifting rapidly away from chemotherapies in some types of lymphomas in favor of immunotherapies and targeted oral therapies that lead to excellent long-term outcomes for patients, with fewer side effects than historical treatments.