Cancer cures in a decade

CURES for a range of cancers are now in sight thanks to a revolution in immunotherapy treatments, experts said yesterday.

Within a decade, patients could be cured of the disease with the help of drugs that make use of the body’s immune system to blast tumours, they claimed.

Lung, skin and kidney cancer are now treated with immunotherapy drugs, with remarkable results.

But an acceleration in research means far more patients with a greater range of cancer types could soon benefit.

These could include those diagnosed with brain, breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer.

Immunotherapy drugs have been shown to be twice as good as chemotherapy, with few of the side effects.

Professor Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research in London told the BBC Today programme: ‘I think what we will see in the next decade and beyond is a whole new range of types of drugs coming to the party and that we will confidently be expected to cure more patients of their cancers.’