HOW BIG DATA IS STRAIGHTFORWARDLY CHANGING CANCER RESEARCH Big Data and other cutting-edge technologies are enabling cancer research to advance more quickly than before. This has resulted in numerous significant advancements in cancer treatment, , which have improved the outcomes for each patient while pointing to a more promising future.
In this article, we’ll look at a few of the numerous ways that Big Data is advancing both cancer research and the care that physicians can provide for patients who already have the disease or are at high risk of developing it.
DEVELOPMENT OF TREATMENT Big data offers a broad perspective on how cancer patients’ treatment regimens are created. Many years can elapse between the conception of a medicine and the time it reaches pharmacies. Big data has the ability to reduce this window by quickly collecting and analyzing test data.
Big Data helped to hasten the release of products to the public when researchers were still working on the initial wave of coronavirus vaccinations. Usually, just creating a vaccine can take years. Once the product is complete, it requires two years of clinical studies to evaluate the drug’s safety.
This wasn’t an option for Covid. Many variables, not the least of which were a quick production plan that saw billions of vaccinations created before the trials had even started, and legislative initiatives that allowed for an accelerated plan of development, contributed to how quickly the vaccines reached the public.
But in the background, data was important in finding approaches to combat the virus and accelerating the development process.
The study of cancer employs the same methodology. More information is available to scientists than ever before. With the aid of machine learning and this knowledge, they can create therapy choices more quickly than in the past.
It’s also important to note that in 2021, a change was made in how clinical trials are carried out for cancer research. At that time, the FDA declared cancer patients with terminal illnesses would be permitted to take part in clinical studies.
This not only gives patients with exhausted treatment choices a sliver of hope, but it also enhances researchers’ ability to assess the effectiveness of novel medications in the most severe cancer cases.
CARRIAGE DEMOCRATIZATION Big Data supports the democratization of healthcare for cancer patients as well as for general public health issues. For instance, in rural areas, several villages can be several miles from the closest hospital and have just one or two local doctors to care for them.
Communities that are underserved can be identified, and their risk factors can be pinpointed, using big data. Is this rural factory, for instance, seeing a lot of cancer cases linked to pesticide exposure? Or possibly there is a nearby factory that is increasing the number of cases.
With the aid of this research, scientists are better able to assist previously marginalized groups while also comprehending cancer risk factors.
Thanks to the growth of wearable healthcare technology and the rising popularity of mobile health clinics, which allow doctors to conveniently access places that might not otherwise receive high-quality treatment, it is now simpler than ever to collect data from rural communities.
THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS Typically, a patient can treat their cancer in a number of different methods. Historically, choosing the best one has required a lot of guessing. Usually, the calculation takes the patient’s comfort and chance of recovery into account.
By connecting patients with the treatments that are most likely to enhance their health based on preexisting conditions, big data might reduce the range of possibilities under consideration.
For instance, big data and machine learning may reveal that younger cancer patients respond better to treatment X whereas older, more frail patients benefit from treatment Y.
This not only advances knowledge of cancer treatment throughout time but also enhances the experiences of specific patients.
CAUSES OF CANCER RISK The recreational usage of tobacco dates back about 8000 years. The Surgeon General did not link smoking to lung cancer and other ailments until the middle of the 20th century, a combination of facts that the tobacco industry and a large portion of the smoking population would not admit for another 50 years.
nicotine and tobacco have only really been understood in the current era for roughly thirty years. Politics, of course, contributed to the delay in the public’s understanding of tobacco.
Big Data can make sure it never takes 8000 years to make a connection that is currently apparent to most children. At its core, data is all about finding patterns and making them simpler for people to understand. By drawing links between exposure to risk factors X and Y, big data can achieve this with cancer risk factors.
This advances our knowledge of how cancer develops. Additionally, it aids patients in avoiding carcinogens.
PARTICIPATION OF PATIENTS Big Data also enables researchers to have a better understanding of how patients take actively in their own care. Taken their medication, if so? How do they get any rest? Eating? The fight against cancer is a 24/7 endeavor. But just a small part of that time is spent with patients by doctors.
By gathering information on patients’ behavior while they are at home, wearables and remote healthcare technology help close some of that gap.
This can assist in both identifying lifestyle aspects that support cancer recovery and supporting patients who might not be choosing the best course of action for their circumstances.
CONCLUSION There are a lot of innovative medical advancements that have huge promise. Robotics in surgery, Big Data, telehealth, and wearable health technology. Put the term prospective in quotes. For the time being, it’s unclear exactly how these technologies will influence patient care in the future.
The possibilities are still alluring, though. Big Data and other technical advancements are currently boosting outcomes for cancer patients as well as the general public. It needs to be seen how much promise it has on a larger scale.
