14th World Cancer & Anti- Cancer Therapy Convention November 21-22, 2016 Dubai, UAE

Translational oncology aims to translate laboratory research into new anticancer therapies. Contrary to conventional surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, targeted anticancer therapy (TAT) refers to systemic administration of drugs with particular mechanisms that specifically act on well-defined targets or biologic pathways that, when activated or inactivated, may cause regression or destruction of the malignant process, meanwhile with minimized adverse effects on healthy tissues.

An anticarcinogen (also known as a carcinopreventive agent) is a substance that counteracts the effects of a carcinogen or inhibits the development of cancer.Anticarcinogens are different from anticarcinoma agents (also known as anticancer or anti-neoplastic agents) in that anticarcinoma agents are used to selectively destroy or inhibit cancer cells after cancer has developed. Interest in anticarcinogens is motivated primarily by the principle that it is preferable to prevent disease (preventive medicine) than to have to treat it (rescue medicine)

Chemotherapy is the process of cancer treatment that uses chemical substances, especially one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents) that are given as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent (which almost always involves combinations of drugs), or it may aim to prolong life or to reduce symptoms (palliative chemotherapy). Chemotherapy is one of the major categories of medical oncology (the medical discipline specifically devoted to pharmacotherapy for cancer).

Radiation oncology is a medical specialty that involves treating cancer with radiation. Doctors who specialize in treating cancer with radiation (radiation oncologists) use radiation therapy to treat a wide variety of cancers. Radiation therapy uses carefully targeted and regulated doses of high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiation causes some cancer cells to die immediately after treatment, but most die because the radiation damages the chromosomes and DNA so that the cells can no longer divide and the tumor can't grow.

Some clinical studies try to determine if a therapeutic approach is safe and potentially effective. Many large clinical trials compare the more commonly used treatment with a treatment that cancer experts think might be better. Patients who participate in clinical trials help doctors and future cancer patients find out whether a promising treatment is safe and effective. All patients who participate in clinical trials are carefully monitored to make sure they are getting quality care. It is important to remember that clinical trials are completely voluntary. Patients can leave a trial at any time. Clinical trials testing new treatments are carried out in phases:

Phase I - Is the Treatment Safe?

Phase II - Does the Treatment Work?

Phase III - Is the Treatment Better?

Phase IV - Are There Better Ways to Use the Treatment?

Radiology is the specialization in diagnosing and treating diseases and injuries using medical imaging techniques, such as x-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET) and ultrasound, while Medical imaging is the technique and process of creating visual representations of the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues. 

Physicians use radionuclide imaging procedures to visualize the structure and function of an organ, tissue, bone or system within the body. Nuclear imaging has two roles: diagnostic and prognostic, indicating that these methods are an essential component in the evaluation of diseases. Newer methods rely on positron emission tomography, allows the generation of images with higher resolution and absolute quantitation of biological processes such as transport activities, enzyme activities or angiotensin receptors. This track will focus on diseases like Non-cancerous diseases, Various Cancers, Congenital diseases, Autoimmune Diseases, Heart diseases, Brain disorders, Kidney diseases and Thyroid disorders

Radiation therapy kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA (the molecules inside cells that carry genetic information and pass it from one generation to the next). Radiation therapy can either damage DNA directly or create charged particles (free radicals) within the cells that can in turn damage the DNA. Cancer cells whose DNA is damaged beyond repair stop dividing or die. When the damaged cells die, they are broken down and eliminated by the body’s natural processes. However it can damage normal cells also.  The amount of radiation that normal tissue can safely receive is known for all parts of the body. Doctors use this information to help them decide where to aim radiation during treatment.

Radiobiology is the field of clinical and basic medical sciences that involves the study of the action of ionizing radiation on living things. Ionizing radiation is generally harmful and potentially lethal to living things but can have health benefits in radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer and thyrotoxicosis. Its most common impact is the induction of cancer with a latent period of years or decades after exposure. High doses can cause visually dramatic radiation burns, and/or rapid fatality through acute radiation syndrome. Controlled doses are used for medical imaging and radiotherapy. Some scientists suspect that low doses may have a mild hormetic effect that can improve health

Palliative radiation therapy is radiation therapy that is used to lessen bone pain when prostate cancer has spread to the bones. Palliative radiation therapy is usually given by external beam radiation. Radiation beams from an x-ray machine are carefully focused on the areas of bones that have the cancer. It may take 2 to 3 radiation treatments for your bone pain to be less. There can be side effects with palliative radiation therapy. Some side effects depend on what part of your body is getting the radiation. The common side effects that you may have are: skin irritation where the radiation beam is placed, fatigue or tiredness, diarrhea, not having an appetite (not feeling like eating).

Radiography is an imaging technique which uses electromagnetic radiation other than visible light, to view the internal structure of a non-uniformly composed and opaque object (i.e. a non-transparent object of varying density and composition) such as the human body. To create the image, a heterogeneous beam of X-rays is produced by an X-ray generator and is projected toward the object. A certain amount of X-ray is absorbed by the object, which is dependent on the particular density and composition of that object. The X-rays that pass through the object are captured behind the object by a detector (either photographic film or a digital detector). The detector can then provide a superimposed 2D representation of all the object's internal structures. Contrast radiography uses a radio contrast agent, a type of contrast medium, to make the structures of interest stand out visually from their background, whereas plain radiography does not. Each type is best suited to certain indications.

Radiation Physics is the use of emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium for detection tumors or other abnormalities

Mammography is a specific type of breast imaging that uses low-dose x-rays to detect cancer early – before women experience symptoms – when it is most treatable.

Three recent advances in mammography include digital mammography, computer-aided detection and breast tomosynthesis.

Digital mammography, also called full-field digital mammography (FFDM), is a mammography system in which the x-ray film is replaced by electronics that convert x-rays into mammographic pictures of the breast. These systems are similar to those found in digital cameras and their efficiency enables better pictures with a lower radiation dose. These images of the breast are transferred to a computer for review by the radiologist and for long term storage. The patient’s experience during a digital mammogram is similar to having a conventional film mammogram.

Computer-aided detection (CAD) systems search digitized mammographic images for abnormal areas of density, mass, or calcification that may indicate the presence of cancer. The CAD system highlights these areas on the images, alerting the radiologist to carefully assess this area.

Breast tomosynthesis, also called three-dimensional (3-D) mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), is an advanced form of breast imaging where multiple images of the breast from different angles are captured and reconstructed ("synthesized") into a three-dimensional image set. In this way, 3-D breast imaging is similar to computed tomography (CT) imaging in which a series of thin "slices" are assembled together to create a 3-D reconstruction of the body.

Radiation Physics is the use of emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium for detection tumors or other abnormalities

Radiation therapy can cause both early (acute) and late (chronic) side effects. Acute side effects occur during treatment, and chronic side effects occur months or even years after treatment ends. The side effects that develop depend on the area of the body being treated, the dose given per day, the total dose given, the patient’s general medical condition, and other treatments given at the same time. Acute radiation side effects are caused by damage to rapidly dividing normal cells in the area being treated, whereas late side effects depends on other aspects of their cancer treatment in addition to radiation therapy, as well as their individual risk factors. 

Medical physics is the application of physics concepts, theories and methods to medicine or healthcare. It uses radiation to provide information about the functioning of a person's specific organs or to treat disease. In most cases, the information is used by physicians to make a quick, accurate diagnosis of the patient's illness. The thyroid, bones, heart, liver and many other organs can be easily imaged, and disorders in their function revealed. In some cases radiation can be used to treat diseased organs, or tumors.