Sounds too good to be true.

“Scientists have developed a holy grail cancer drug that kills all solid cancer tumors while leaving other cells unharmed.

The new molecule - codenamed AOH1996 - targets a protein present in most cancers that helps tumors grow and multiply in the body.

It is significant because this protein - the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) -  was previously thought to be 'undruggable'.

The drug was tested on 70 different cancer cells in the lab - including those derived from breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin, and lung cancer - and was effective against them all.

The drug is the culmination of 20 years of research and development by the City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles, one of America's largest cancer centers. …”

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/12360701

Should this go in The Lair?
I've seen that movie.

While anything is possible, that would be incredible. This book is an excellent read on the challenges of the disease for anyone interested. Easy reading, don't have to be a doc or scientist.

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Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
Sounds too good to be true.

You said it.

That would be incredible though.

that would be amazing...

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The drug was tested on 70 different cancer cells in the lab - including those derived from breast, prostate, brain, ovarian, cervical, skin, and lung cancer - and was effective against them all.

Didn't anyone read World War Z???!!!

Seriously though, I hope this is true.

Not amazing whatsoever. I can name several compounds that are just as effective at killing cultured cancer cells. There's a huge difference between what occurs in-vitro with such cells versus what happens in-vivo at the cellular, tissue and systemic levels.

Stories like this are consistently published every year and non-life scientists don't understand what they're reading.

I'll say it once again (probably a dozen times now in my 20+ years on this forum): The mainstream press are not in the business of enlightening people, rather to sell sensationalist pieces and their knowledge of science is zilch. The gal that wrote the article in question has a Master's in journalism... that should be enough to disregard the entire thing.

Hope it is true. NOT tested in humans just the lab. All cancers are different. Wonder what the side effects are. Title says potential. Are we giving false hope to cancer patients?

I agree that it would be incredible but the cancer industry makes billions of dollars annually. The medical establishment would never let a pill shut down their cash cow.

quote:

Originally posted by Dakor:


I'll say it once again (a dozen times now in my 20 years on this forum): The mainstream press are not in the business of enlightening people, rather to sell sensationalist pieces and their knowledge of science is zilch. The gal that wrote the article in question has a Master's in journalism... that should be enough to disregard the entire thing.

Her article may be enough to sucker in some investors.

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The medical establishment would never let a pill shut down their cash cow.

^^^^^^^^^^^
That is pretty jaded. There are plenty of diseases to treat and more than enough work to go around.

You betcha. Can't tell you the number of times I've read about cancer breakthroughs happening in microcap companies, only to go nowhere b/c they're at the same stage as that indicated in the article. Hell some are even past that stage, having conducted murine studies.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

The medical establishment would never let a pill shut down their cash cow.

^^^^^^^^^^^
That is pretty jaded. There are plenty of diseases to treat and more than enough work to go around.

It does come across as a little jaded but based on my experiences with the health care industry, it is realistic.

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

The medical establishment would never let a pill shut down their cash cow.

^^^^^^^^^^^
That is pretty jaded. There are plenty of diseases to treat and more than enough work to go around.

It does come across as a little jaded but based on my experiences with the health care industry, it is realistic.

Sad thing is I read Jupiter’s initial statement and immediately thought, “Yup.”

I’ve seen companies buy others with competitive products just to shut those products down. I believe capitalism is the best economic system there is, but it isn’t without warts.

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Originally posted by slosig:

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

The medical establishment would never let a pill shut down their cash cow.

^^^^^^^^^^^
That is pretty jaded. There are plenty of diseases to treat and more than enough work to go around.

It does come across as a little jaded but based on my experiences with the health care industry, it is realistic.

Sad thing is I read Jupiter’s initial statement and immediately thought, “Yup.”

I’ve seen companies buy others with competitive products just to shut those products down. I believe capitalism is the best economic system there is, but it isn’t without warts.

I'm a big fan of capitalism. Crony capitalism not so much. Unfortunately... that's where were are.

A limited # of cancers are now essentially curable through therapeutic interventions. You can thank biopharma and the medical establishment for those accomplishments, but like many industries there are improvements that can be made and innovation always comes with failure.

One can only improve by continuing to advance research and educating one's self. The mainstream Press isn't the recommended avenue for the latter.

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. They caught it early and she is doing very good but isn’t totally out of the woods yet. I really hope and pray this is legit. Cancer sucks.

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that's where were are

Really? Because it seems like we’re in a thread you just took a dump in. Thanks for that.

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:
I agree that it would be incredible but the cancer industry makes billions of dollars annually. The medical establishment would never let a pill shut down their cash cow.

Depends on the amount of cash they can get from such a pill, curing cancer doesn't eliminate cancer, so we'd still have millions of ongoing cases created all the time, it would be a perpetual cash cow.

That reminds me of the old tales of OPEC buying up 70 MPG inventions for cars and hiding them so they could sell more oil.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
I’ve seen companies buy others with competitive products just to shut those products down. I believe capitalism is the best economic system there is, but it isn’t without warts.

If this is legit I'd think even Big Pharma would have a difficult time burying something this big.

I must be speaking in Martian for those asking/hoping IF this news is legit.

I'm assuming it is... in case which the molecule means nothing at the moment, other than a "hit" (in terms of screening) worthy of additional studies. Not until it's much further down the road and de-risked in terms of those additional studies, including more in-vitro work as well as some in-vivo results (animal then human), would we in biopharma place any value on the molecule. BTW, those studies could easily take 4-8 years to heighten our interest in potentially acquiring such and funding the necessary pivotal clinical studies (more years still) for market approval. That is, IF the molecule (or its medicinal chemistry redesign/lead compound) passes everything with flying colors... a large improbability based on the historical number of drug development failures in oncology.

Seriously this topic should be shut down b/c this news item simply isn't newsworthy. I know I'm done discussing it.