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A panel of experts working on the Obama administration's "cancer moonshot" (announced during the President's State of the Union address) recommend a greater focus on immunotherapy. Their report includes these ten summarized recommendations (bonus videos at link):
- Network for direct patient engagement
- Cancer immunotherapy clinical trials network
- Therapeutic target identification to overcome drug resistance
- A national cancer data ecosystem for sharing and analysis
- Fusion oncoproteins in pediatric cancer
- Symptom management research
- Prevention and early detection: implementation of evidence-based approaches
- Retrospective analysis of biospecimens from patients treated with standard of care
- Generation of human tumor atlases
- Development of new enabling cancer technologies
"The goal is to focus investigators into these areas because this is where we feel we can make huge progress in the next five years as opposed to the next 10 years," Berger said. In addition to the 10 scientific approaches that the Blue Ribbon Panel recommended, there are additional special projects. These include a demonstration project to test for Lynch syndrome, a heritable genetic condition that increases risk of several types of cancer, to improve early detection and prevention; the establishment of a nationwide pediatric immunotherapy clinical trials network to enhance the speed with which new immunotherapies can be tested in children; exploring patient-derived organoids; and "microdosing" devices to test drug responses in living tumors.
"It feels like exactly the right time to be launching a big new push against cancer," said Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS, president of UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. "The report of the Blue Ribbon Panel is bold and imaginative and, if properly funded and implemented, will allow major progress in a considerably accelerated time frame."
Also at The Washington Post and NBC.
Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel Report 2016 Draft (72 page PDF)
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Sunday September 11 2016, @01:28AM
"Curing cancer" is merely a code word for multi-million dollar therapies that are essentially undeserved windfalls for various administrators, directors, CEOS, and shareholders.
This is the kernel of truth. Pharmaceutical companies don't want to cure anything, they want to relieve symptoms and extend lifespans. I'm pretty sure 99% of the scientists involved would love to cure "it", but the sociopathic Cxx'S look at the profit/loss statements and say "oh hell no, we ain't selling that drug".
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Sunday September 11 2016, @08:47AM
The problem with this theory is that sociopathic executives aren't going to sign their own death sentence. Someone will have access to this tech.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 11 2016, @10:12AM
A cancer cure can be profitable, because everyone has cancer, and even if it is cured once, you will eventually get it again if you live long enough.