Oncology
Oncology refers to a branch of science that deals with tumors and cancers, as “onco” means mass or tumor and “logy” means study.
Each cell in the body has a regulated system that controls growth, maturity, reproduction, and death of the cells. To put it simply, cancer happens as a result of out-of-control growth of abnormal cells.
Unfortunately, cancer is among the leading causes of death all over the world, and according to the research the earliest evidence of cancer dates back to ancient Egypt.
The role of an oncologist is to help diagnose the cancer, stage the cancer, and grade the aggressive nature of the cancer.
It is noted that the most common symptoms that point towards cancer include fatigue, weight loss, unexplained anemia, fever of unknown origin, and etc.
Oncology depends on several diagnostic tools including biopsy, removing bits of the tumor and examining it. Other diagnostic tools include endoscopy, X-rays, CT scanning, MRI scanning, PET scanning, ultrasound and other radiological techniques, Scintigraphy, Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, Positron emission tomography and nuclear medicine techniques etc.
As rise of markers in blood may be indicative of cancer, common methods for cancer diagnosis include blood tests for biological or tumor markers.
Cancer Therapy
Depending on the grade and stage of the cancer, your oncologist plans the most suitable therapy that could be radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and other modalities.
It is noted that other specialists including a surgeon, pathologist, radiation oncologist, or a radiotherapist may also be included in cancer treatment. However, the whole therapy is coordinated by the oncologists.
Your oncologist is responsible for follow up in order to detect relapse and remission, which mean return of the cancer and remaining cancer-free, respectively.
Cancer Screening
It is also noted that screening the general population for cancer and screening the relatives of patients (in case of cancers that have heredity basis, like breast cancer) is also included in oncology and cancer research.
Iran background in Oncology
It is noteworthy that “Iranian Society of Clinical Oncology (ISCO) is a professional organization of over 260 registered clinical oncologists dedicated to excellence in patient care, education, research, and administration in oncology. In late 60s, a number of clinical oncologists who had been trained in UK returned to the country and for the first time, started treating solid tumors by chemotherapy and radiotherapy in Iran. After some years of practice, those UK-trained oncologists along with other specialists in radiology and medical physics including Dr. Afshari, Dr. Shahrad, Dr. Mortazavi, Dr. Dehshiri, Dr. Ghandi, Dr Amin, Dr. Homayounfar and Dr. Ghaffari started to train residents in the field of clinical oncology. Later on, they decided to found an specialized society in the field of clinical oncology, and it was by their effort that ISCO was founded in 1977 in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. The Society held monthly meetings, but due to the small number of members, was quite inactive till early 80s. In 1984, by joining more members, it was hoped that the society had entered a new era, but unfortunately that time was concurrent with the height of the war that Iraqis had imposed on Iran, and the society was inactive till 1990. At that time, the society re-established, however, it was not fully active due to unstable social conditions caused by war. In late 90s following improving the economic and social conditions in the country, and by increasing the number of graduates in the field of clinical oncology, ISCO re-started its activities with well-defined programs, and with the main goal of elevating the standards of education, research and patient care in the field of clinical oncology according to the international standards. Therefore, the modern clinical oncology era started in Iran in early 2000s, and since then, by joining more than 170 new members, it has played an important role in treating and controlling cancer in Iran. ISCO organizes an annual national clinical oncology congress, in which distinguished Iranian and international guest speakers present the latest updates in oncology. Furthermore, each year, ISCO organizes several seminars and meetings on various topics in the fields of cancer prevention and treatment. The Society also supports local oncology meetings held in other cities of the country and the participation of its members in different international congresses of oncology.”
New methods of cancer diagnosis and treatment in Iran
Personalized Medicine, Future Medicine, For Better Life
NCDaTA, Novel Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Approaches, is an organization that started its activity in Tehran in 2018. The aim of this organization is to explore the potential of advanced techniques in cancer diagnosis and also find best treatment strategies.
What makes this organization different in cancer treatment is that its focus is on personalized medicine. For more information please do not hesitate to contact us.
“Keeping in line with the current focus that personalized medicine should be the future medicine, cancer research has received tremendous attention. In recognition of the growing excitement and potential of personalized medicine for both the advancement of cancer biology and future clinical applications, we felt it timely to establish this organization to address and discuss the current prevention cancer research models and future of this field.
By itself, the field of cancer has generated tremendous interest especially immune-oncology section; however, in parallel, scientific development in the post-genomic era and achievement in system biology will allow for the necessary development of personalized medicine.
