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SaltZookeepergame691 t1_jda16in wrote

It’s a single arm phase 1 study with a handful of patients. It is fundamentally impossible (and irresponsible) to claim that this drug “extends… patients’ lives” on the basis of an uncontrolled study. There is a huge way to go before efficacy can be claimed.

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Bird_skull667 t1_jde8iq4 wrote

Right? I am also extremely wary of any article that uses the term 'cancer' with no qualifier. Which cancer? Which subtype? Breast cancer alone has like 4 subtypes with different genetic mutations driving those as well. Pancreatic cancer is not lung cancer is not leukemia. 'Cancer' is broad a term its almost meaningless except to describe something as apposed to another totally different disease type.

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vivaldop t1_jdgpymt wrote

Not a doctor so those are just my supposition using my medicao knowledge.

terminal stage cancer are extremely similar in the way that the metastasis all around the body makes the treatment impossible and therefore, the cancer type doesn't matter anymore since everything is affected.

Edit : this was false, i'm glad i kept myself aware to be proven wrong.

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Bird_skull667 t1_jdgu95l wrote

This is false. Metastatic Colon cancer in your brain is colon cancer, not brain cancer. Breast cancer in your liver is breast cancer, and both are treated based on the type of cancer you have. Cancer treatments, even for metastatic disease are based on the mutations and drivers of specific cancers. It's why there are different types of chemo, immune therapies, CDK inhibitors, surgeries, etc. 'Cancer' describes a wide range of different genetic mutations that cause malignant growth of cells, but it is not one thing. This is also why there is no one cure, or treatment, for all cancers.

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veltcardio2 t1_jdeiyq8 wrote

This is the correct comment. Needs more research and even more trials before efficacy trials. Too early

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Wagamaga OP t1_jd9ype8 wrote

NTNU has been responsible for the basic research. APIM Therapeutics has used the basic research to develop the medicine.

It has taken 18 years and more than EUR 20 million.

The medicine has now been tested on 20 cancer patients who were terminally ill. They had tried all available treatments, and as a last resort they opted to try a new option that was in the experimental stage.

Cancer stopped growing The trials took place in Australia, where there are clinics that specialize in testing new medicines.

The results are very promising and have been published in the journal Oncogene.

Seventy percent of the patients who tested the medicine were stable after six weeks. Twelve continued the medication and were stable for 18 weeks. One woman took the medication for 17 months, and was stable for over two years.

In other words, the cancer stopped growing.

The aim of the testing in Australia was not primarily to check whether the medicine worked, but rather to determine whether it was toxic to humans.

It certainly wasn't toxic.

The medicine has previously been shown to both keep cancer at bay and defeat it in laboratory and animal experiments.

Marit Otterlei is behind all the research. She is a professor of molecular medicine at NTNU

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-phase-medicine-terminally-ill-cancer-patients.html

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Next-Mobile-9632 t1_jd9zzpl wrote

58% still progressive after 18 weeks, not that great

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freshspring_325 t1_jda131q wrote

Unfortunately, that really depends on the cancer type, stage, and treatment history. Progression-free survival for 5 months is actually an improvement for some patient populations.

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SuppaCoup t1_jdb038n wrote

interesting, any oncologists here who can speculate on where this could lead or how it would be used? My uneducated thoughts are that perhaps people with especially nasty cancers would get a stiff dose of chemo and then follow it up with regular infusions of this drug to make the cancer coming back much less likely, also perhaps this could allow a person a longer rest period between bouts of chemo?

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SaltZookeepergame691 t1_jdbrkvk wrote

Not an oncologist, but it’s far too early to tell. They saw no tumour responses, and the length of response in a couple of patients could easily just be chance.

They are now running a (single arm) trial in patients with platinum sensitive ovarian cancer in conjunction with platinum chemotherapy, so they clearly see this as an adjunctive therapy. But as said elsewhere, there is a huge way to go from phase 1 to rolling out an actually effective drug that provides net benefits to patients.

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veltcardio2 t1_jdejmko wrote

Oncologist here. This is a phase 1 trial, it can’t assess efficacy, there is no comparator here. Phase 1 trial exist to asses optimal dosage and safety, side effects, etc. Before it reaches a phase 3 trial (where it would be compared against another established therapy), it needs more testing. It’s too early to even know if it works and even it’s side effects, but it looks like something that should be further studied.

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XyZy3000 t1_jdc9cfo wrote

Question number one is what quality that live is? I don't think so prolonging life in pain and suffering is worth to do.it

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Bird_skull667 t1_jde995e wrote

Might want to leave that choice to the people having to decide. My friend had her whole lower body opened in an abdominal exenteration surgy. She had multiple abdominal organs removed, vagina, as well as vertebrae. She had to relearn how to walk, and now has an ostomy bag and catheter. Some people turn down the surgery because they would rather die. My friend is happy she did it. Some pain is worth getting to spend extra years on this planet. That's what most terminal cancer patients want. More time to get to the next treatment, to hopefully find a cure or long term solution. Living with stage 4 cancer is not all pain and suffering. Most people are just living their lives.

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noldshit t1_jdahrep wrote

And the medication will cost a fortune

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debr1126 t1_jda0nne wrote

So, a medicine that keeps you alive, but only as long as you keep taking it?

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Brittainthecommie2 t1_jdbioum wrote

That is precisely what a lot of medications do.

ART Insulin Immunosuppressants The list goes on.

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