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Patients with terminal cancer could "effectively be cured" by the discovery of a pair of drugs which can shrink tumours or bring them under control in nearly 60% of people with advanced melanoma.
In an international trial of 945 patients, treatment with the drugs ipilimumab and nivolumab stopped the cancer advancing for nearly a year in 58% of cases. This was compared with 19% of cases for ipilimumab alone, which resulted in tumours stabilising or shrinking for an average of two and a half months.
The treatment, known as immunotherapy, uses the body's immune system to attack cancerous cells. Researchers say it could replace chemotherapy as the standard treatment for cancer within five years.
[Paper]: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1504030#t=article
Original Submission
(Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 04 2015, @09:40PM
From tfa:
In this case it is apparently not directly a treatment for cancer. From that quote it sounds more like a treatment for the ways cancer is being treated or studied. So they gave this drug to the doctors rather than the patients?
Perhaps the idea is that if a doctor is high on something he/she may be less likely to detect the cancer or to become overly pessimistic about the progress being made. The CT scan shown at the top of that story may indicate the mechanism. They apparently compared scans from two different levels when doing before/after. If you just make sure the later scan is a slice through the edge of the tumor while the earlier is towards the center, it would appear that the tumor is shrinking, consistent with the positive 'vibes' the drug induces in the doctor.
They also say:
They must have meant nervous system rather than immune system. Under the influence of the drug, the doctor more readily identifies patterns in the CT scans as tumors. The second drug sounds like it counteracts the effects of the first once it kicks in allowing the doctor to snap out of it and distinguish real from illusory tumors. Since it is easier to destroy imaginary than real tumors, it is obvious that the success rate will increase.
Not a bad plan.
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Thursday June 04 2015, @10:21PM
I do not usually complain but, 'Troll?' I may have a warped or broken sense of humor (that is for you to judge) but I found the legitimately humorous so it was, at least, entertaining. Far more mundane and less creative humor is flagged as such. Why is this trolling? They are not fishing for a reply to make someone emote (usually with anger) beyond what is a reasonable response, are they?
I am not sure that I always agree with (or even agree with in the majority of instances) the moderation done here. It seems petty and trivial and tribal. Flag me what you wish, my goal is not to join the chorus, it is to have a voice of my own. I feel this moderation was unjust and should be repaired and no, I have no conflict of interest - I do not post AC.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 2) by AnonTechie on Friday June 05 2015, @08:32AM
Off Topic: Incidentally, why no mod points today ?? Is there a problem ? Is anyone else facing same issue ?
Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."