Irish Examiner view: Gains made in our fight against cancer

These three discoveries are vitally important for a huge number of people.

Clinical trials of a new drug combination have shown the treatment blocking tumour growth. File Picture: iStock

We saw during the covid-19 pandemic the speed at which medical advances can be made and, in the past week alone, there have been reports of two major breakthroughs in cancer treatment, as well as news of a discovery that could hugely improve the health of women who have endometriosis.

The first of the cancer discoveries concerns women with ovarian cancer, and the revelation that a new drug treatment significantly reduces tumours in 50% of patients. The phase-two trial was led by the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research, London.