# New cancer treatment may offer hope...



## Gypsy (May 15, 2007)

This could be great...

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2007/may/0515_cancer_treatment.shtml

New cancer treatment may offer hope
By UPI Staff
United Press International
May 15, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. (UPI) -- A new cancer treatment developed by two University of Oklahoma professors has offered new hope in its reported ability to stop the spread of cancer cells.

The Oklahoman newspaper reported Monday that professors Thomas Pento and Roger Harrison have discovered a new treatment that does not harm healthy normal cells in the body but keeps cancer cells from spreading.

The professors said their treatment works by preventing cancer cells from gaining methionine, an essential protein for the cells to spread.

They said that the treatment involves the use of a fusion protein that does not harm normal cells.

*Pento said that the treatment has proven particularly useful in relation to prostate, breast, pancreatic and lung cancers.*

"It could be applicable to many types of cancer," Pento said, "but we've found that it's effective for those four types of cancer for sure."

The newspaper said that while the treatment seems promising, additional testing must be conducted for several years to ensure it is safe and effective.


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## pardus (May 15, 2007)

About time!


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## Gypsy (May 15, 2007)

Concur GW.  They need to speed up those tests...


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## Ex3 (May 15, 2007)

Great news!


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## tova (May 15, 2007)

Wow - I truly hope this does prove to be beneficial :)


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## poison (May 15, 2007)

Oh yeah!


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## pegasus (May 16, 2007)

Did some quick checks. This write-up reads like gene therapy and that has been in use in Europe for some time. The USA tried to do gene therapy trials a few years ago, something happened and testing was stopped. I believe it was mid 2006 the FDA opened up testing again in select cancer treatment locations. Since gene therapy is so large, maybe they have identified a specific protein. 

Hope this helps make gene therapy treatment more accessible. 

Details on gene therapy. http://www.nature.com/cgt/index.html


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## 104TN (May 16, 2007)

I used to volunteer at Vandy. When I left the talk around the water cooler was this machine called a CyberKnife. I heard one Oncologist say he was gonna get qual'd on it or whatever it is they do because it'd double his salary. I thought that was pretty sweet of him.

http://www.accuray.com/

-edit-
Dug this up to find out what "double" would mean for an Oncologist.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0704/gallery.jobs_new_careers.biz2/4.html


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## Boondocksaint375 (May 16, 2007)

im in the wrong field


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## 104TN (May 16, 2007)

Food for thought. I "thought" about going to med. school at one time and trying to get into Oncology (but came to terms with the fact that I'm not that smart). After my BS I'd be looking at four years at an accredited medical school, about three years as an internal medicine resident and then about two more years in an oncology subspecialty residency. This gives a grand total of eight years in college and about five more as a resident before one is qualified to practice as an oncologist. I'd be over 30 before I started practicing medicine.

I wish they'd just go ahead and cure that shit already.


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## pardus (May 16, 2007)

Zuzu said:
			
		

> Why would the drug companies really want to when they make so much money off the treatment.



Because their number one concern is our health and well being :uhh:


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## pardus (May 16, 2007)

I watched my father die from cancer, so no-one is more cynical than I.
No need to apologise.


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## Looon (May 16, 2007)

Im a firm believer that if a cure for cancer was developed tomorrow, you would never see it.

Entire companies would cease to exist. People would lose jobs, because the medical industry would take a huge multi billiion dollar hit.

It's about the $, not the care or treatment.:2c::2c::2c::2c:


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## 104TN (May 16, 2007)

Not really, it'd be a two thousand dollar shot available only after seeing a seven hundred dollar specialist who'd probably have to spend another five years on top of all that Oncology stuff I listed just to prescribe it.


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## DoctorDoom (May 18, 2007)

This is therapeutic proteomics, not gene therapy.

Given the difficulties and dangers of administering proteins, it will be almost a decade before this goes anywhere.  If it goes anywhere, and that's a big "if".  the ability to prevent mehtionine metabolism in cancer sell lines in vitro is nice but just the first step.

Gene therapy trials are still ongoing in several fields.  They weren't just stopped.  Problem is they tend not to work too well, right now.

You couldn't pay me enough to be an oncologist.  And if you want to RLK, you could do it; it's not THAT hard.


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## 104TN (May 18, 2007)

DoctorDoom said:


> You couldn't pay me enough to be an oncologist.  And if you want to RLK, you could do it; it's not THAT hard.



Says the Doctor with a colonial college education.


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