Oncology

Whilst pediatric haemato-oncologists increased the cure rate to nearly 90% for leukemia in children in the 80’s, little has been achieved in the domain of solid tumor metastatic diseases. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and a better understanding of growth-driven mutations have led to the development of many targeted therapies, both in the form of antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) and small molecules. As a result, life expectancy without deterioration of quality of life has improved moderately. There now remains a new dream for long-term remission and even cure in a not-so-distant future. Applied mathematics and new computing of large dataset will improve our scientific understanding of tumor growth and distant metastasis and provide more tools to detect resistance and mutations (cDNA) earlier. We strongly believe that what has been achieved for leukemia in children can be replicated across many tumor types. This could have a huge societal impact as it would lead to a significant decrease in premature death due to cancer, whilst also preserving quality of life. There is a need for promoters to re-challenge, from bench to bedside, their strategy, value proposition, and differentiation with robust evidence to stay abreast of fast-evolving standards of care. We are advocates for a thorough and critical assessment of the challenges and opportunities for patient care.