A simple blood test that tells you which combination of cancer therapies will work best for you. It is still some way off, but VUB researcher Damya Laoui is contributing to the science that could make it possible.
‘You have cancer’: every day, 130 people in Flanders receive that news. In laboratories around the world, researchers are continuing the search for new therapies. At VUB too. Professor Damya Laoui’s team, for example, is working on a therapeutic cancer vaccine designed to prevent recurrence and metastasis. Another weapon in the oncology arsenal, in other words.
Damya’s vision for the future is to use a blood test to determine very precisely the type of cancer and the optimal combination of therapies, tailored entirely to the individual patient. There are still major challenges to overcome before that vision can become reality. In this video, part of the Future Thinkers series, she explains how science aims to tackle them.