Final Paper on The Effects of Anti-Cancer Drugs on Cancer Outcomes.

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Part A: Introduction

The health and wellness of the world has majorly depended on the developments and advances made in healthcare treatment. Cancer happens to be among the latest in a long list of diseases which science has been front and center in addressing them. However, the success in mitigating other conditions has not necessarily been replicated when it comes to cancer. The condition has become quite adverse and this has made discovery of treatment more important. At the moment, there are various forms of treatment which are in use against different forms of cancers. While some have been quite effective in helping clients, others have led to negative outcomes. There is need for more understanding on the effectiveness of different kinds of drugs on different case scenarios. The prevalence of cancer and the role that it plays in affecting the lives of patients requires that there are better efforts towards finding more effective treatments.

Part B Review of Literature

Cancer

Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally, accounting for 9.5 million deaths as of 2018. Thyroid Cancer is one of the most frequent endocrine malignancies, contributing to 3.4 percent of all cancers in the United States each year Indini et al. (2022). While there has been significant progress in the development of new cancer treatments and the increase in the use of anticancer drugs over the past few years, the side effects of these drugs can be severe and sometimes life-threatening. However, there is still a lack of evidence regarding their efficacy and safety. As a result, it is critical to assess the benefits and risks of these medications before hospitals use them to treat cancer patients. This literature review aims to assess the benefits and risks of anticancer medicines in patients with advanced cancer. This literature study will aid in a deeper understanding of these medications and their prospective usage in cancer care.

Similarities

Methodology

Silaghi et al. (2022) and Bachelard et al. (2021) conducted systematic reviews and meta-analyses to investigate the risks and advantages of anticancer medications in patients with advanced cancer, as well as potential causes of resistance to such treatments. Both investigations looked for clinical trials in English written between the years 2000 through 2021 and followed the PRISMA criteria. Indini et al. (2022) employed a different technique conducting a systematic review of the function of the mTOR and NAD pathways in malignancy treatment, progression, and resistance. This study searched Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Embase for English language papers published between 2000 through 2021.

Findings

Anticancer medication usage was related to a considerable risk of death in advanced cancer patients, according to Silaghi et al. (2022) and Bachelard et al. (2021). However, the authors discovered that these medications were linked to a considerable increase in the likelihood of surviving for at least a year. Furthermore, the researchers discovered that using these medications was related to a considerable increase in the likelihood of living for more than five years. Their findings differed significantly from those of Indini et al. (2022), who discovered that the mTOR and NAD paths are responsible for drug resistance in malignant cells. Furthermore, the authors discovered that these pathways might be possible targets for future treatment methods.

Recommendations

Targeted therapy is recommended by Bachelard et al. (2021), Indini et al. (2022), and Silaghi et al. (2022) as potential therapeutic choices for individuals with advanced cancer who have completed standard-of-care treatment. They also emphasize the necessity of knowing medication resistance mechanisms to design more effective targeted therapeutics. Furthermore, they underline the need for trustworthy biomarkers in guiding treatment decisions. Finally, they examine the prospects of immunotherapeutic and combinatorial treatment as resistance-busting techniques for targeted therapeutics.

Differences

Methodology

There are major discrepancies in technique between studies by Bachelard et al. (2021) and Indini et al. (2022). Bachelard et al. (2021) assessed the benefits and dangers of anticancer medicines in advanced cancer patients using a meta-analysis and systematic review. Indini et al. (2022) conducted a literature review to find the most recent guidelines, clinical and preclinical research, and novel perspectives in treating advanced, malignant RAIR-DTC. Both Bachelard (2021) and Indini et al. (2022) employed various databases and search phrases. Such databases included PubMed, Google Scholar, and Embase. Bachelard et al. (2021) explored clinical trials testing

Anti-cancer medications in adult patients with metastatic tumors, whereas Indini et al. (2022) looked for publications about DTC therapy and innovative therapeutic approaches. It is also worth mentioning that Bachelard et al. (2021) included a data meta-analysis, but Indini et al. (2022) did not; this is the most likely because Bachelard (2021) was concerned with assessing the effectiveness of anticancer medications. In contrast, Indini et al. (2022) were concerned with locating the most recent recommendations and research on the therapy of DTC.

Results

Indini et al. (2022) had different results than Silaghi et al. (2022). While Indini et al. (2022) discovered that the mTOR and NAD paths play a role in drug resistance development in malignant cells, Silaghi et al. (2022) discovered that targeted therapy is a viable therapeutic option for thyroid cancer.

Recommendations

When discussing therapy choices with advanced cancer patients, Bachelard et al. (2021) propose that adverse effects documented in clinical trials should be considered.

As prospective options for overcoming resistance, Indini et al. (2022) propose combinatorial treatment, dedifferentiation therapy, targeting alternative pathways and immunotherapy. Silaghi et al. (2022) propose targeted therapy for patients with distinguishable thyroid carcinoma who have developed resistance to radioiodine treatment. They advocate salvage treatment for patients who fail to respond to first-line Tyrosine kinase inhibitors therapy.

Part C: Analysis of Literature Review

Discussion

This discussion presents cancer, one of the major health problems today. In 2018, the cancer burden across the globe was 18.1 million new cases, with at least 9.6 million people dying from the disease. According to Meegan & O’Boyle (2022), one in six women and one in five men globally are forecasted to develop cancer at some point, with one in 11 women and one in eight men dying from cancer. The major types of cancer affecting the world with regards to the new cases of the disease are breast cancer and lung cancer, with at least 18.4 per cent (1.8 million) succumbing to lung cancer, thanks to the poor prognosis of lung cancer. These statistics show that cancer is a major health issue leading to millions of the global population annually. To minimize the number of deaths caused by cancer, such professionals as molecular biologists, chemical biologists, and medicinal chemists have endeavoured to discover and develop drugs that may be used to treat cancer. Chemotherapy has been found to be an extremely powerful tool in treating cancer, with current research focusing on developing new chemotherapy drugs. Undoubtedly, the availability and development of new and more effective oncology drugs are encouraging. The development of anticancer drugs has been challenged by the issue of drug relapse, resistance, and side effects. This is the problem that medical research needs to address if the lives of cancer patients are to be saved. Due to many types of cancer, there is no specific population that is targeted by the disease.

Mitigation

As pointed out earlier, chemotherapy is one of the most effective methods used in the treatment of cancer despite its side effects. According to Silaghi et al. (2022), chemotherapy seeks to kill cancer cells, which grow very fast. However, chemotherapy drugs tend to divide healthy cells as they destroy cancer cells. Such damage is associated with side effects such as hair loss, fatigue, and nausea. Fortunately, with the progression of cancer, science to manage and mitigate the unwarranted effects of chemotherapy has also witnessed significant growth. As pointed out earlier, one of the side effects of chemotherapy drugs is fatigue. Thus, patients should engage in regular exercise as a way of countering chemotherapy-induced fatigue. The exercise does not have to be intense, like going to the gym, but one may even take an evening walk, thus helping address the fatigue associated with chemotherapy drugs. In cases where the cancer patient experiences vomiting and nausea, it is important to take antiemetics drugs, which effectively eliminate the issue of nausea. Taking several small meals instead of large meals may help with nausea.

Recommendation

Resistance is manifested in virtually all effective anticancer drugs. Most patients portray either acquired or intrinsic resistance to chemotherapeutic treatment. Chemotherapy cannot be discounted as a recommendation to address the challenge of cancer, as it has tremendously helped save millions of lives across the globe. Indini et al. (2022) found that many cancer types tend to respond well to the “traditional” chemotherapy treatments such as antimitotic drugs, antimetabolites, topoisomerase inhibitors, intercalating drugs, and alkylating agents, although a few types of cancer can be cured completely using such treatment approaches. Due to the resistance of the cancer disease to chemotherapy treatment, this discussion also recommends using smart drug delivery systems (SSDS) to treat cancer. According to Silaghi et al. (2022), SSDS is a drug delivery system based on smart nano-carriers. In this regard, the system can deliver anticancer drugs to the specific target sites with less frequency of dosage in a more controlled manner, which tremendously reduces the side effects associated with conventional delivery systems of anticancer drugs.

Part D: Conclusion

Finding the right treatment for patients with advanced cancer is crucial in elongating their lives. There are different forms of therapy which have shown effectiveness but they also happen to have adverse effects on the patients. There is also the issue of resistance which should always be taken under consideration. For better treatment outcomes, it is essential that there is utilization of different treatment according to how they suit the patients. The different recommendations come with the discretion of ensuring that they bring about the best outcome in the patients. Further research will be helpful in establishing more effective ways of dealing with the cancer problem.

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