New Cancer Vaccine Shows Promising Results in Human Safety Tests

[Densetsu]

I read the research article [PDF] on this a year ago. I wouldn't get too optimistic, yet. It only targets 90%.

As good as 90% sounds, it leaves 10% of cancer cells impervious to the vaccine. Those 10% will eventually grow to repopulate the cancer patient.

The difficulty with curing cancer is that if even 1% of the cells is left alive, they'll just grow back again. That's why oncologists have to use multiple methods (various methods of chemotherapy + radiation) to fight cancer in one patient. They just hope that if one method misses a few cancer cells, the other methods will pick off the remaining surviving cells. It works sometimes.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

I read the research article [PDF] on this a year ago. I wouldn't get too optimistic, yet. It only targets 90%.

As good as 90% sounds, it leaves 10% of cancer cells impervious to the vaccine. Those 10% will eventually grow to repopulate the cancer patient.

The difficulty with curing cancer is that if even 1% of the cells is left alive, they'll just grow back again. That's why oncologists have to use multiple methods (various methods of chemotherapy + radiation) to fight cancer in one patient. They just hope that if one method misses a few cancer cells, the other methods will pick off the remaining surviving cells. It works sometimes.

The thing is, it targets 90% of the different types of cancer, not 90% of the cells in a specific cancer. While true, cancerous cells could adapt to such methods, it still means that only 10% of different types of cancerous cells could survive. Also, as an example, if someone that had a type of cancer that this stuff could cure, it would kill it completely, whereas, someone with a different type might not be fazed by it.

 

[Densetsu]

The thing is, it targets 90% of the different types of cancer, not 90% of the cells in a specific cancer. While true, cancerous cells could adapt to such methods, it still means that only 10% of different types of cancerous cells could survive. Also, as an example, if someone that had a type of cancer that this stuff could cure, it would kill it completely, whereas, someone with a different type might not be fazed by it.

There is no such thing as a tumor that contains a homogeneous mass of cells that all contain the same exact antigens. If that were the case, then cancer would be very easy to cure. But unfortunately, all of the cells in a tumor are different from each other because of random, rapid mutations. All tumors are a heterogeneous mix of cancerous cells containing different antigens.

 

[Zetta_x]

This topic makes me sick - pun intended

Everything has a win and lose situation. Guess how much we have learned about the human system by studying cancer. So while some biased views will see this as only a benefit, if no one had cancer, tons of people who went through years of college will have no where to work, the medical education would be severely undeveloped.

We learn from our sorrows, life needs to have an equal balance of sad and happiness -- our skewedness perspective on the world has many flaws.

You're suggesting by curing all diseases we are essentially halting the progression of Medical science? Bullshit.

No I'm saying cancer is responsible for a large part of medical progression

 

[Gahars]

This topic makes me sick - pun intended

Everything has a win and lose situation. Guess how much we have learned about the human system by studying cancer. So while some biased views will see this as only a benefit, if no one had cancer, tons of people who went through years of college will have no where to work, the medical education would be severely undeveloped.

We learn from our sorrows, life needs to have an equal balance of sad and happiness -- our skewedness perspective on the world has many flaws.

You're suggesting by curing all diseases we are essentially halting the progression of Medical science? Bullshit.

No I'm saying cancer is responsible for a large part of medical progression

This vaccine wouldn't magically remove the countless samples of cancer cells we currently have (the ones that infinitely reproduce). We're in no danger of running out anytime soon should we ever need to take another look.


So yeah, that's hardly a reason to deny life (or at the least, better lives) to those who would otherwise be terribly afflicted.

 

[Densetsu]

...if no one had cancer, tons of people who went through years of college will have no where to work, the medical education would be severely undeveloped.

You're suggesting by curing all diseases we are essentially halting the progression of Medical science? Bullshit.

No I'm saying cancer is responsible for a large part of medical progression

As someone who actually studies medicine, I think you're grossly underestimating how much there is to know in the field. Cancer is just a small bit of knowledge when compared to the whole of medical knowledge.

And you could say the same argument about anything. If we were born with jetpacks in our asses we would never need to invent airplanes. And I'd rather the human race never experience a zombie outbreak than have a cure for zombie-ism at the cost of half the population dying.

 

[Nimbus]

Good lord sir, science never ceases to amaze me! A cure or rather a viable vaccine for cancer. Impressive.

 

[OJClock]

Good news even though some ~cancer treatment breakthrough~ comes out every month or so

What's really interesting about this is that they actually got human test subjects to test it on

 

[Zetta_x]

...if no one had cancer, tons of people who went through years of college will have no where to work, the medical education would be severely undeveloped.

You're suggesting by curing all diseases we are essentially halting the progression of Medical science? Bullshit.

No I'm saying cancer is responsible for a large part of medical progression

As someone who actually studies medicine, I think you're grossly underestimating how much there is to know in the field. Cancer is just a small bit of knowledge when compared to the whole of medical knowledge.

And you could say the same argument about anything. If we were born with jetpacks in our asses we would never need to invent airplanes. And I'd rather the human race never experience a zombie outbreak than have a cure for zombie-ism at the cost of half the population dying.

Exactly, everything has a balance. That was my whole point, my point was not that cancer is good, my point was that there is never always a down side in response to people who have such biased point of views.

Everything you learned is because there existed some problem ages ago that people have figured out. The keyword: problems.

We thank you cancer for contributing to the medical community, but now is your time to go.

 

[Wizerzak]

This topic makes me sick - pun intended

Everything has a win and lose situation. Guess how much we have learned about the human system by studying cancer. So while some biased views will see this as only a benefit, if no one had cancer, tons of people who went through years of college will have no where to work, the medical education would be severely undeveloped.

We learn from our sorrows, life needs to have an equal balance of sad and happiness -- our skewedness perspective on the world has many flaws.

Are you one of those evil politicians or something? I don't know about you but I would much rather have people alive without suffering than worrying about people losing their jobs and medical research grinding to a halt (which, if it does, will only be in the field on cancer which we would no longer need to research anyway if we have a cure).

We thank you cancer for contributing to the medical community, but now is your time to go.

What? If cancer hadn't existed in the first place there would be no need to fight it. You don't research things for the sake of research you know? You research things in order to solve the problem.

 

[Zetta_x]

The reason why we have so many jobs in this society is because we have so many problems. Lets just imagine all of the medical problems just disappeared, what would happen to all of the jobs.

I would be a evil politician, or put into perspective, an unbiased politician. We, as a society, have gotten used to everybody doing nice things and trying to maximize happiness, a person who does not do nice things or goal is to maximize people's happiness is looked down upon.

Someone falls down, if a person walks right by them (aka doing nothing and not pushing them down) that person would be looked down upon.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

The reason why we have so many jobs in this society is because we have so many problems. Lets just imagine all of the medical problems just disappeared, what would happen to all of the jobs.

In all honesty more people equates to needing more jobs. Like if your job is, say, to make clothes. More people means we need more people to make clothes. And the influx of new people will mean we can fill this gap. The issue is resources.

That's why we're looking to expand to other planets and crap. Not kidding.

 

[KingVamp]

That's why we're looking to expand to other planets and crap. Not kidding.

Wouldn't that be somewhat nice. Expect they may present more medical problems when/if that happens.
So Guild, what do you think the likelihood of living on other planets?

 

[The Milkman]

I thought making a proper cure or vaccine for cancer was impossible because it comes out with a new string every year like the flu

 

[Jakob95]

The reason why we have so many jobs in this society is because we have so many problems. Lets just imagine all of the medical problems just disappeared, what would happen to all of the jobs.

I would be a evil politician, or put into perspective, an unbiased politician. We, as a society, have gotten used to everybody doing nice things and trying to maximize happiness, a person who does not do nice things or goal is to maximize people's happiness is looked down upon.

Someone falls down, if a person walks right by them (aka doing nothing and not pushing them down) that person would be looked down upon.

Did you ever think about it this way? A man has a job and has a family to support and a house to maintain. He later gets cancer and is to ill to work and now his house gets foreclosed, his whole family is now in a struggle and his kids can't get a decent education to go to college because of money problems. And so on.

 

[Gahars]

I thought making a proper cure or vaccine for cancer was impossible because it comes out with a new string every year like the flu

........No.

 

[The Milkman]

I thought making a proper cure or vaccine for cancer was impossible because it comes out with a new string every year like the flu

........No.

You say that as if its a stupid question -_-

 

[Gahars]

I thought making a proper cure or vaccine for cancer was impossible because it comes out with a new string every year like the flu

........No.

You say that as if its a stupid question -_-

........Yes.

 

[The Milkman]

I thought making a proper cure or vaccine for cancer was impossible because it comes out with a new string every year like the flu

........No.

You say that as if its a stupid question -_-

........Yes.

And with that I'm gone.

 

[Gahars]

@[member='Zantigo']

That's... all you have to offer? No wondering why your comments on cancer are seen as shockingly ignorant? Weak.

And just a heads up for the future. No hate, just good advice.