60 Minutes follows brain cancer patients in a Duke University clinical trial of a therapy that uses a re-engineered polio virus to kill cancer cells
Using polio to kill cancer: A producers’ notebook
Get subscriber-only insights and news delivered by Barry every two weeks.
Cancer’s Achilles Heel
I did not know before that cancer tumors have a shroud that makes them invisible to the immune system. Just destroy the shroud with a potent virus and cancer becomes defenseless. Polio virus turns out to be the savior of cancer patients. Luckily, some people were thinking way outside the box!
didnt know that it had a shroud either. but then it seems its not the only disease that has that. Lyme does too
THESE smart guys and the courageous patients to take a shot at an unimaginable treatment deserve MUCH respect, and MUCH joy for those who successfully saw their tumors go away. It will be interesting if the particular cancer at the beginning of the story are able to fight off any future cancer reappearance, or the cells are permanently sensitive enough to keep the cancer down. The top video didn’t go on to the 2nd segment–I’ll see where it might be.
THANX for getting this much out for us non-TV watchers to see.
On HBO last night Vice showed a similar story which included a young women who appears cured from an engineered HIV virus.
Caveats around this will be huge but there maybe a ‘there’ there.
http://www.vice.com/read/watch-vice-on-hbos-special-report-on-killing-cancer-217
~~~
Admin: We ran that previously
http://ritholtz.com/2015/02/killing-cancer/
Clear your calendar Mon-Wed evening this week for Ken Burns’ documentary on: Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies.
The 2010 book was exceptional. The documentary should provide a 5-year update on the evolved science.
http://cancerfilms.org/
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/29/ken_burns_stunning_new_documentary_about_cancer_we%E2%80%99ve_always_been_on_the_cusp_of_the_cure/
This piece was way too optimistic. Apparently it’s the third segment that this producer has done going back many years touting a “cure” for cancer. I think it was called journalistic malpractice on a genetic medicine website I read and that seems fair.
As for the cancer “shroud”, google CD47. It’s the “don’t eat me” protein that many cancers express that signals immune cells to ignore the invader. There are clinical trials going on working this angle. Celgene starts soon, as does Trillium Theraputics, Stanford is ongoing, and there’s at least one more. Knowing the precious little that I do about cancer treatment, this looks like the horse to bet on right now.