When a medical breakthrough happens, it changes the way we think about medicine. It can dramatically improve patient outcomes and open up new frontiers of treatment. Antibiotics revolutionized infection treatment, allowing surgery and organ transplants; vaccines prevented deadly diseases, including smallpox; and anesthesia enabled surgical procedures with minimal pain. The discovery of X-rays and the double helix structure of DNA were also game-changers.
One of the most recent big medical breakthroughs is a cancer drug called osimertinib that targets tumour mutations. This has the potential to hold back advanced cancers for years – and perhaps even cure some – without many of the usual side effects such as nausea and vomiting that are associated with other chemotherapy drugs.
In a further milestone, doctors have successfully transplanted kidneys from pigs to humans for the first time. They were able to do so using gene editing to remove harmful pig genes and add human ones that help prevent rejection. This is a potentially life-changing development for people on organ waiting lists.
Other significant developments have included the emergence of wearable technology and telemedicine, which have improved accessibility and convenience for patients; 3D printing, which allows for custom-made prosthetics; and nanotechnology and gene editing, which are opening up new treatment frontiers. While these advances are exciting, there is a real risk that medical breakthroughs will be slow to translate into meaningful improvements for the majority of people around the world. This is why we must continue to invest in research, and ensure that all countries have access to the best possible healthcare.