As of: March 26, 2024, 10:45 a.m
By: Susanne Sasse
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Princess Kate's cancer diagnosis makes the world sit up and take notice.
Prof. Algül from the Technical University of Munich explains why this is shocking and calls for a rethinking of prevention.
Princess Kate's cancer shocks the world.
Prof. Hana Algül, chief physician and cancer expert at the Technical University of Munich, explains why, despite the encouraging progress in the fight against cancer, we are constantly shocked by news like that of the 42-year-old Princess's illness - and what conclusions we have to draw.
The specialty of Prof. Hana Algül (Technical University of Munich) is cancer of the pancreas.
Here he notices a worrying development: more and more young patients are being affected.
The oncologist calls for a rethinking of prevention.
Cancer expert Prof. Hana Algül (TUM, left) calls for better and more comprehensive cancer prevention: “We need a boost in development in prevention!” He and his colleagues are conducting research to combat cancer more effectively.
© TU Munich
Is it true that cancer is increasingly affecting younger people?
Yes.
We know from studies that some tumor diseases have a disproportionate increase, especially among younger people, i.e. those well under 50 years old.
This applies, for example, to pancreatic and colon cancer.
Only around ten percent of patients with colon cancer are young.
But in younger people affected the cancer is often much more aggressive than in older people.
Because the number of younger patients is increasing and at the same time their prognoses are worse, we have to rethink our preventive measures.
As has already happened with breast cancer, where prevention was adapted to demographic developments.
According to Prof. Hana Algül, mammography is a model for other preventive examinations.
© Panther Media
How can prevention get better?
Modern prevention includes the HPV vaccination against cervical cancer as well as individually tailored preventive examinations that take the genetic risk into account.
We also need low-threshold offers, such as stool tests or blood tests for circulating cell-free tumor DNA when it comes to colon cancer.
In order to detect suspicious structures that the human eye could miss, we also need the increased use of artificial intelligence.
Endoscopies can then be used specifically where a test result indicates possible cancer.
The earlier cancer is discovered, the better the chances of recovery.
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Speaking of chances of recovery: Princess Kate is said to be receiving preventive chemotherapy after the operation.
What does that mean?
I don't want to take part in the speculation about the princess's illness.
However, the term preventative chemotherapy is translated poorly.
There is the concept of chemoprevention;
However, this refers to drug therapy to prevent the development of a tumor.
Chemotherapy after successful tumor surgery is called adjuvant chemotherapy.
This means that chemotherapy is administered following tumor surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells.
I assume the latter is true in the case of Princess Kate.
Research for better early detection.
© Andrew Brookes/imago
What could be the reasons why more and more younger people are getting cancer?
Our nutrition, prevention and medical care are much better than they used to be.
It is assumed that the increase also has to do with our modern lifestyle: with diet, exercise, stress factors and environmental influences.
We have a lot of causal research to do here.
Due to a lack of previous data, it is not possible to say whether the number of inherited cancers is increasing.
However, our new measurement methods clearly show that a proportion of tumor diseases that should not be underestimated is inherited.
In plain language, this means that everyone should go through their family history.
If there is an increase in tumor diseases, it should be taken seriously.
And be careful: Don't just look at the tumor types: If ancestors had prostate cancer, this can lead to an increase in the genetic risk of other types of cancer.