Dramatic breakthroughs in the treatment of leukaemia and colon cancer are being outlined today at the sixth international cancer conference at Dublin Castle.
Prof John Crown of St Vincent’s University Dublin said that there had been a “very definite dramatic improvement” in outcomes for patients with colon cancer.
He said that nothing seemed to work for these patients in the past twenty years but colon cancer treatment was now “one of the most heartening stories”.
This afternoon, Prof Owen Smith of Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin will say that perhaps the single greatest achievement in all of cancer therapy in the past 50 years has been in improving the outcomes for children with leukaemia.
The overall cure rate was 50 per cent in the mid 1970s. It is now about 85 per cent.
The impressive improvements have not been achieved by the introduction of new drugs but from the fine-tuning of the delivery and the combinations of these drugs.
The conference is a collaboration between the HSE, the Irish Cancer Society, Trinity College Dublin and St James’s Hospital, Prof Mark Lawler of Trinity College explained.
“We will have over 200 people at our conference - all seeking an update on the latest developments and challenges on cancer prevention, treatment and care.
“The line-up of experts, from Ireland, US, UK and elsewhere, who are scheduled to present at the conference, will ensure that all of us will learn from this event - and that our patients will ultimately benefit.”
