Experts Forecast Cancer Research and Treatment Advances in 2018

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Srivani Ravoori, PhD

This past year has been a year of many “firsts” for the oncology community. The field witnessed several revolutionary advances in the research and treatment of cancer, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of an immunotherapeutic to treat patients based on biomarkers rather than the site of tumor origin; the approval of the first CAR T-cell immunotherapy; and the approval of a comprehensive next-gen companion diagnostic test to identify the right patients for the right molecularly targeted therapeutic.

Also in 2017, the FDA approved the FoundationOne CDx test, which can detect genetic mutations in 324 genes and two genomic signatures in any solid tumor type, and the first “biosimilar” cancer drugs, which could potentially help drive down the costs of some cancer treatments.