It Turns Out Science is a Good Thing

The New York Times reports on a small study where all rectal cancer patients given a certain pill were cancer-free.  Though the sample size was tiny (just 18 patients), the study was significant enough to be presented in the New England Journal of Medicine (one of my dad’s two favorite publications he read.)

In the Times article, they said that despite the small sample “the results were unbelievable”.

“I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer,” said Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr. of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Alan P. Venook, who studies colorectal cancer at the UC, San Francisco, worked on the study. He said he was certain it was the first time ever this had happened, that total remission in every patient is "unheard-of."  One woman has been cancer free for two years.

The report says the treatment unmasks cancer cells, allowing the immune system to identify and destroy them.

The larger point is that it shows what researchers are dealing with and what they’ve discovered today.  So, clearly it’s something that they are working for building towards other cancers.

Side Note:  I know this is NOT because of Joe Biden -- but it's worth noting that he has made curing cancer his major issue since he was VP...and has been ridiculed for it by conservatives.  But science & research -- and support -- is A Good Thing.

Here's the full article.