---
title: "Oncology "
description: "Ancient Egyptian physicians recorded the presence of malignant tumors as early as 3000 BCE. However, for most of modern medicine, doctors have not fully…"
url: https://www.independentpress.com/article/oncology
date: 2026-03-17
categories: ["Healthcare","Technology"]
author: "By Tomer Shapira"
---

# Oncology 

![Oncology](https://images.ctfassets.net/ewtdlsoyixc1/5WeuDrlhS3DwgEqyisyHzk/93093f0bc16bae5712c04f869b9765fd/Image__11_.jpg)

**Introduction **

Ancient Egyptian physicians recorded the presence of malignant tumors as early as 3000 BCE. However, for most of modern medicine, doctors have not fully understood what causes cancer or how to treat cancer without damaging other healthy tissue in the body. Oncology, or the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer, developed slowly over the centuries, only accelerating in recent times with advances in biology, chemistry, and computing. Innovations in measurement, data, and technology have produced new cancer fighting drugs and reshaped how we understand the disease. Early cancer treatments were blunt and destructive. Modern treatments are much more precise guided by a patient’s genetic information. Today, exciting developments in genomics, liquid biopsy, artificial intelligence, immunotherapy, and radioligand therapy are redefining what cancer care looks like. 

**The Early History of Oncology **

For centuries, cancer treatment relied almost entirely on surgery. If a tumor could be seen or felt, the only real option was to cut it out. This approach worked only if the cancer had not spread. Once cancer cells moved through the bloodstream or lymph system, surgery alone could not stop the disease. Radiation therapy emerged in the early 20th century after scientists discovered X-rays and radioactive materials. Radiation damages the DNA inside cancer cells, preventing them from dividing. The discovery of radiation allowed doctors to treat tumors difficult to remove surgically. However, radiation is also harmful to healthy tissue, and its precision was limited by the imaging technology of the time. 

An evolutionary shift occurred in oncology with the discovery of chemotherapy. During World War II, researchers observed that exposure to mustard gas damaged white blood cells and bone marrow. This observation led scientists to test related chemical compounds against cancers of the blood and lymphatic system. Nitrogen mustard became one of the first chemotherapy drugs in the late 1940s. Chemotherapy works by attacking cells that divide rapidly. Because cancer cells divide quickly, they are vulnerable. But many healthy cells also divide quickly, including hair cells and cells in the digestive tract. This is why chemotherapy can often cause hair loss, nausea, immune suppression, and other severe side effects. 

In 1948, Sidney Farber demonstrated that antifolate drugs could temporarily induce remission in children with leukemia. Now a cornerstone of chemotherapy, antifolate drugs have become a key class of antimetabolite chemotherapy agents used in treating cancer. Farber’s research was one of the first studies to prove that cancer could be controlled by targeting biochemical pathways. Over time, chemotherapy treatments have evolved as doctors have found that the use of multiple drugs targeting multiple pathways increases effectiveness and survival rates. By the 1970s and 1980s, combination chemotherapy had significantly improved chances of survival in patients suffering from cancer. These treatments were still broad attacks on dividing cells though, rather than precision strikes against specific molecular drivers. 

**The Rise of Targeted Therapy **

The next evolution in oncology occurred as scientists began to better understand cancer at the genetic level. Cancer is a disease that results from the accumulation of DNA mutation in cells. Certain mutations cause cells to grow uncontrollably. If those mutations could be identified, drugs could be designed to block the exact proteins responsible. This hypothesis became reality with the development of drugs like imatinib (Gleevec), approved in 2001 for chronic myeloid leukemia. Instead of broadly killing all dividing cells, imatinib targets the abnormal BCR-ABL protein that is responsible for uncontrolled and continuous cell proliferation to inhibit the signals that cause cancer cells to grow and divide. Precision therapies like imatinib significantly improve survival rates in cancer patients with fewer of the side effects associated with traditional chemotherapy. 

Targeted cancer therapies include small-molecule inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, and targeted radioligands. Small-molecule inhibitors are typically oral drugs that block enzymes inside cancer cells. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-designed immune proteins that attach to specific targets on cancer cell surfaces. Antibody-drug conjugates combine the targeting ability of antibodies with toxic payloads. Radioligand therapies attach radioactive particles to targeting molecules, delivering radiation directly to tumor cells while sparing surrounding tissue. 

These precision therapies only work when the correct biological target is present. This requirement has led to the increased usage of biomarker testing in oncology. Today, before starting many cancer treatments, doctors will test tumors for genetic mutations or protein markers. Treatment is no longer determined solely by where the tumor sits in the body, but also by its molecular signature. 

**Immunotherapy** 

Another major shift in oncology has been the development of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy works by reprogramming the body’s immune system to recognize and destroy cancer. Cancer cells often evade the immune system by activating checkpoints, which are signals telling immune cells not to attack. Drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors block these signals. The development of pembrolizumab (Keytruda), commercialized by [Merck & Co.](http://www.merck.com/), helped prove that reactivation of the immune system could lead to durable responses in cancers previously considered fatal. While some patients have experienced long-term remission using immunotherapy, not all patients respond in kind, and immune-related side effects can occur because immunotherapies can activate the immune system to attack healthy tissues in addition to cancer cells.

**Liquid Biopsy and Early Detection **

One of the most promising new technologies in the field of oncology is liquid biopsy. Tumors shed fragments of DNA into the bloodstream. These fragments, known as circulating tumor DNA, can be detected through advanced blood tests. Liquid biopsies allow doctors to monitor cancer without invasive surgery. The test helps detect cancer recurrence earlier, identify resistance mutations, and in some cases screen for cancer in people who are not exhibiting any symptoms. Companies like [Guardant Health](https://guardanthealth.com/) have developed FDA-approved blood-based screening tests for colorectal cancer. [GRAIL](http://www.galleri.com/) has worked on multi-cancer early detection tests designed to identify cancer signals from a single blood sample. The idea is straightforward. Instead of waiting for symptoms, doctors are attempting to detect the presence of cancer at very early stages through routine blood work. Challenges remain in proving these tests reduce mortality and avoid unnecessary follow-up procedures. 

**Artificial Intelligence in Oncology **

Artificial intelligence is also becoming an important part of cancer care. Oncology generates enormous amounts of data: imaging scans, pathology slides, genomic sequences, electronic medical records, and clinical trial databases. AI systems analyze patterns across this data at a scale impossible for humans alone. In digital pathology, AI models analyze scanned tissue slides to assist pathologists in detecting cancer cells and grading tumors. Companies such as [PathAI](http://www.pathai.com/) and [Paige](http://www.paige.ai/) build AI-driven diagnostic tools aimed at standardizing cancer detection across hospitals and laboratories worldwide. The healthcare technology company [Tempus](http://www.tempus.com/) combines genomic sequencing with clinical data to help match patients to targeted therapies and clinical trials. AI also plays a role in drug discovery. By analyzing molecular structures and genetic data, AI systems suggest potential drug targets more quickly than traditional laboratory screening. 

**Radioligand Therapy and Precision Delivery **

Another major development in oncology is the use of radioligand therapy. The global pharmaceutical company [Novartis](http://www.novartis.com/) has been one of the leading companies in the radioligand therapy sector offering treatments that target specific proteins on cancer cells and directly deliver radioactive particles to those cells without harming healthy tissues. Novartis’s approach merges imaging, molecular targeting, and radiation into one integrated treatment. The development of radioligand therapy has moved oncology toward precision delivery methods, ensuring toxic payloads reach tumor cells more effectively than traditional radiation methods. 

**Public Companies and Startup Innovation **

Large pharmaceutical companies continue to lead the development of cancer treatments. Merck has built a multi-billion-dollar franchise around Keytruda, using it in combination with other therapies. Novartis has expanded radioligand treatments and cell therapies. [Moderna](http://www.modernatx.com/) offers personalized mRNA cancer vaccines designed to stimulate immune responses tailored to each patient's cancer. [Roche](http://www.roche.com/), [Bristol Myers Squibb](http://www.bms.com/), and [AstraZeneca](http://www.astrazeneca.com/) remain major players in targeted therapy and immuno-oncology. 

Outside of big pharma, startups continue to drive experimentation and the search for novel cancer treatments. Guardant Health and GRAIL focus on blood-based diagnostics. PathAI and Paige focus on AI-powered pathology. Tempus combines data infrastructure with precision medicine tools. These startups often focus on niche applications within oncology, such as diagnostics, data, or delivery, rather than building fully integrated pharmaceutical pipelines. 

**Where Oncology Stands Today **

The history of oncology reflects a shift from broad destruction to precision targeting. Early cancer treatments relied on surgery and toxic chemicals that harmed both tumors and healthy tissue. The discovery of genetic drivers and immune checkpoints has transformed cancer therapy into a more personalized science. Today, genomics, liquid biopsy, AI, radioligand therapy, and mRNA platforms are pushing oncology into a new era. The central idea of modern oncology is precision. Instead of asking "Where is the tumor?" doctors now ask "What is driving this tumor?" Instead of waiting for symptoms, researchers aim to detect cancer through blood-based signals. Rather than one-size-fits-all chemotherapy, treatments are increasingly tailored to genetic markers and immune profiles. 

Despite the advances in oncology, challenges persist. Cost, accessibility, resistance mechanisms, and data that supports long-term survival benefits are all remain unsolved problems. But it is indisputable that the technological foundation of oncology has fundamentally changed. Cancer care is becoming more data-driven, more individualized, and more technologically integrated than at any point in medical history. The next decade will determine which of these avant-guarde technologies become standard practice and which remain experimental. Oncology is no longer only about destroying tumors. It is about understanding them at the molecular level and designing systems precise enough to outsmart them.