A possible cure?

[cirianz]

Anyone else hear the article on the News this am. (I haven't had time to check it out yet sorry) but they are starting human trials on a new chemical (an enzyme I believe) that can identify cancer cells & kill them? They were talking about the trials being in men with prostate cancer so I don't know if this enzyme will effect all types of cancer or is only for prostate cancer yet but either way this is a huge leap forward in the search for a cure.
I know there will be many ups & downs to come & that there is no such thing as a miracle cure, but even so I find myself crying at the thought. I am scared to hope, but a part of me just can't help it. Need to hunt out the details yet (I only just heard it) but I wanted to pass it on to you guys straight away.

 

[itsme]

That would be exelent news thank you cirianz

 

[Adywebb]

Thanks ciri - if its true, then its great news

 

[muckshifter]

Hmmm, interesting ... it would good if you could find some more information.

I have had a prostate cancer test, they were looking for volunteers for a trial they would be conducting ... they were actually looking for people with prostate cancer.

Fortunately for me I do not have prostate cancer and was rejected as unsuitable ... best rejection I ever had.

I was asked a lot of questions and it was also explained to me that very few people actually died as a result of having prostate cancer ... I'll say that again, people have died with prostate cancer but not as a result of having prostate cancer.

I wonder if those trials were on the same lines as you have heard.

 

[cirianz]

I've checked through more medical journals than I like to count today but unfortunately without the name of the drug/enzyme it was all pretty useless I'm afraid. I did find some related info on stage 4 clinical trials for an enzyme prodrug therapy that looks promising but it was for the treatment of colonic & rectal cancer... Unfortunately, without the drug name I'm more likely to get info off the popular news (& there's nothing on the BBC website) than the medical journals.
There are so many new developments & clinical trials of new & old therapies going on even just in the field of prostrate cancer alone that it would likely take a couple of weeks heavy research just to get up to date. Staying there could be a full time career. It is heartening though, to see that so much is going on in the field & knowing that we all are a part of that. I will keep my eyes open though & see if I can find anything & if I can find a news article that is somewhat more informative so that i actually know what I'm looking for.

 

[Rush]

This latest drug is called abiraterone.

Read this week cirianz..( i know the thread is 2 years old but maybe it will bring in more crunchers)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...ve-in-80-per-cent-of-men,-study-suggests.html

heres hoping

 

[nivrip]

New research on drugs is always welcome but only rarely do life changing drugs appear. This one does seem to have some potential but, as usual, will take a few years to get through clinical trials and, sadly, that's where a lot of them eventually fail to make it. Often unacceptable side effects only become apparent when extensive testing occurs.


This one is specific for prostate cancer as it interferes with testosterone which is the "driving force" behind this problem. So it will not be any good for other types of cancer.

I have a book from 1934 which states quite categorically that the cure for cancer (and, incidently, the common cold ) would be found "in the next few years". Unfortunately cancer is not one illness but lots of very different ones so a "cure" for one does not mean a cure for all.

This post is sounding incredibly pessimistic. There have been big advances before - penicillin, streptomycin, Tagamet, various drugs for leukaemias so let's just hope that this really is the big breakthrough for advanced prostate cancer. It would make all men feel a lot better.

 

[cirianz]

Thanks Rush Yes, I believe I've heard of this one, although I didn't know it's name. Apparently it does have all the Dr's knickers in a twist because it has achieved some quite staggering results. Although I had't heard anything about the possibility of using it in Breast cancer as well. Makes me curious about the mechanism.
Yes Nivrip, it's unlikely that the drug will be the cure-all wonder drug that they're saying now, even Doctors can get all carried away with enthusiasm But as I understood it it already has gotten through some quite extensive clinical trialing already. If they're into the stage of starting international trials (ie releasing the drug to other independant laboratories) then they have to be pretty confident of it. Really it's just a matter of sitting tight and crossing fingers. As you said, sometimes the big advances really do pan out