New treatment destroys head and neck cancer tumours in trial

[Jilly_in_VA]

A new cancer treatment can wipe out tumours in terminally ill head and neck cancer patients, scientists have discovered.

In a landmark trial, a cocktail of immunotherapy medications harnessed patients’ immune systems to kill their own cancer cells and prompted “a positive trend in survival”, according to researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, and the Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust.

One patient, who was expected to die four years ago, told the Guardian of the “amazing” moment nurses called him weeks after he joined the study to say his tumour had “completely disappeared”. The 77-year-old grandfather is now cancer-free and spent last week on a cruise with his wife.

Scientists found the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab medications led to a reduction in the size of tumours in terminally ill head and neck cancer patients. In some, their cancer vanished altogether, with doctors stunned to find no detectable sign of disease.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/11/new-cancer-treatment-destroys-tumours-in-terminally-ill-finds-trial

[jimfields33]

1. Excellent!!!

We should be spending boatload of money on this type of thing. Talk about a positive outlook for the population.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. The potential for growing the numbers of the meager smattering of Humans on Earth is great!

Not to mention, of course, individual homo sapiens living as LOOOOOOONG as possible.

Which is, of course, the most worthy goal there has ever been.

We should for sure throw a ton of money at it instead of say, dumb-old climate change, or cleaning up the environment so less people get cancer to begin with.

[ShazzieB]

4. Or we could, you know, do both?

[Hugh_Lebowski]

13. Let's just say that if *I* believed that were possible, we wouldn't be having this discussion :) nt

[kirkuchiyo]

5. There's money to be made!!! nt

[DENVERPOPS]

6. It would be interesting

to know the cost of these drugs to patients. Some one I know is on Ibrance? and the monthly cost for 21 pills is stunning.......

[colorado_ufo]

7. Have you ever loved someone who has cancer?

Are you of the opinion that human beings do not have an individual value or have unique contributions to be made?

Why bother saving any of us?

[Hugh_Lebowski]

12. Honestly, I'm partly joking, but I'm also pretty misanthropic at this point ...

I've made no bones about my belief that the world is way-overpopulated with human beings at this stage, and I'm quite concerned with the welfare of the little remaining wildlife, and wild places still on this planet.

IMHO, people are destroying this world for virtually every other species.

So, I don't jump for joy when reading of medical developments that may mean large numbers of people living much longer lives, as a matter of course.

I just don't think it's 'that good of a thing'.

I realize that makes me pretty much of a dick in many people's eyes.

But at least I'm consistent.

[Ford_Prefect]

9. Count on it we will be, each and every one of us that gets Cancer or whose family does. We will be

spending by the boatload while the Insurance and Big Pharma companies will be raking it in.

[sinkingfeeling]

14. As a 13 year Stage IV throat cancer survivor, thank you

for posting this. Anything would be an improvement over current radiation treatments that cause skin burns, blisters in your mouth and throat, loss of taste and saliva, and decades of after effects.

[BobTheSubgenius]

3. I've long thought that finding ways to turn the patient's immune system into a tumour killer was

and extremely promising way to go. I'm no oncologist, or a doctor of any kind, but I've read quite a bit about "the silver bullet" approach with no small amount of enthusiasm.

[rustysgurl]

8. My husband lost his best friend to brain cancer 3 years ago.

If there was ever a person worth saving, it was Steve Mitchell. He was something else. Everyone described him as their "best friend." Kind-hearted. Loved animals. Great listener. Funny as hell. Talented drummer. Just an all around great guy. Then one day he started having seizures. Brain cancer.

I'm happy to hear of this breakthrough. Wish it could have a little bit sooner to save Steve.

[flying_wahini]

10. I had a friend that was in on the trials of this drug cocktail in 2014.

She passed away suddenly so we don’t know if it would have worked. But because of people like her we now have drugs like this. So sad and happy too.
I will say that she was not billed for her care during the trial, either for the drugs or her hospital stays.

[aggiesal]

11. This is the second treatment that comes out of the UK of significance ...

The first was when thinning olive oil to the consistency of blood, and injecting into the blood stream
caused people with pneumonia to survive. Yet I hardly ever hear it used.