Interview, Fireside Chat
Dr. Naureen Starling, Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden
- The oncology sector is projected to advance through the convergence of scientific data, technology, and discovery targeting difficult-to-treat cancers, while surgical, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy procedures are anticipated to be delivered safely during the pandemic via established "COVID-free environments."
- Radiotherapy trends are expected to shift toward innovative approaches involving higher doses and fewer hospital visits, a model already implemented across the UK, supported by a government £160 million fund designed to accelerate access to treatments with reduced risk and visitation requirements.
- Precision medicine is forecast to accelerate driven by the capability to sequence a patient's cancer genome for under £1,000 within a few days, alongside the planned establishment of a dedicated early detection floor at the Oak Cancer Centre where every patient will participate as a research subject.
- Regulatory outlooks include expected approvals for a novel targeted combination therapy for BRAF V600E mutation patients following a successful campaign, and the potential for NICE to review immunotherapy replacing chemotherapy as first-line treatment for mismatch repair deficiency patients early next year.
- Clinical data from over 1,000 patient studies on immune response and a liquid biopsy diagnostic pilot are anticipated to inform future treatment safety and routine practice implementation.
- A UK government partnership with Grail is set to pilot a liquid biopsy test in 165,000 NHS patients, with plans to expand the rollout to one million patients contingent upon successful results, though final data is required before the anticipated major change can be fully realized.