Chips' Fun House ~ View topic

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn10971

I can't decide if I believe it or not. On one hand it seems rather fishy that the FDA would ever keep something like this out of consumer hands. On the other hand its not some low-life company making these claims... its a university.
Thoughts?

Yeah, ah, what type of cancer ?

I find it hard to believe.

well if its true, that university qill get quite a few applicants next semester :p

Forum Scout Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Posts: 86 Location: Texas

The FDA is sort of like the EPA these days. Its run by ex industry types and mostly works to preserve the profits of the large drug companies. I know that sounds terribly cynical, but this particular government agency just happens be much more broken than most. Big big dollars are at stake here. (Hundreds of Billions)

The newscientist has a decent reputation, and there is probably something to this. BUT... This is still petri dish work. Many other magic bullets have been found that kill cancer cells in a petri dish. Killing cancer cells inside a person is much much much much harder. Even if they can find a way to make this drug work in a patient without messing up some other critical body chemistry, it usually takes at least a decade to get from petri dish to pill.

As for Foxtrots "What kind of cancer" question: It is true that current chemotherapy drugs are very cancer specific. But this drug works on one of the features that most cancers have in common. Sort of like the anti angio-genesis work that also shows some promise. If it works out, it should work on many types of cancer cells. The study did brain, breast, and lung cancer cells, all of which mutate from different types of healthy cells.

No: I don't have cancer. But I did lose a loved one to the desease and I did a lot of research during that time. Plus I am a major science wonk. I think this work has promise, but only time will tell.

Forum H4xor Joined: 05 Oct 2005 Posts: 1172

yeah the FDA these days is horribly political and keeps "big pharma"'s money and interests over the citizens health and interest. i mean hell Vioxx was approved by the FDA despite preapproved data that showed a sevenfold increase in risk for a heart attack. After a suspected 140,000 hearts attacks later, the Vioxx company, Merck, recalled Vioxx. Of course, the FDA voted again in February '05 17-15 for Vioxx to remain on the market, 5 months after it was pulled Smile

I won't believe it till my mom is cured. Plus, this source doesn't seem too reliable.

*Last edited by StaR on Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:58 pm; edited 1 time in total*

Once there's an official Conference about it,
and a week later, it heads all newspapers in the world
I'm going to believe it.

and What type of cancer?

did you read the article AT ALL?

I don't trust it.
It almost seems a little too good to be true.
Cheap, effective, and treats a deadly disease (infection?).
Something's going off in my head that just tells me it's too good to be true.