SAN DIEGO -- The latest developments in cancer research are unveiled in San Diego -- treatments experts hope can one day help to prevent lung cancer, ovarian cancer and boost the ability of nearly all chemotherapy drugs.

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The latest research discoveries were announced Monday at the American Association For Cancer Research convention in San Diego.

Dr. David Cheresh of the UCSD Moores Cancer Center has discovered a way he said he hopes may get cancer drugs to work better -- a procedure he said works like a smart bomb.

"The idea is we target the dg to the tumor blood vessels by way of a nano-particle and that nano-particle releases its payload and that ultimately results in shrinkage of a tumor," Cheresh said.

Human clinical trials for this research could happen in the next few years.

Dr. Li Mao from the MD Anderson Clinic at the University Of Texas shared data on early lung cancer screening -- a procedure he said he has already tested in more than 100 former smokers.

“The goal is to take a simple mouth swab, test the DNA, and access the risk of lung cancer,” Mao said.

Based on the results of his study, Mao said he could detect pre-cancerous cells or cancer in the lungs 90 percent of the time, just from the test swab alone. That could mean preventive cancer treatments could be started before a tumor forms.