Talimogene Laherparepvec
Talimogene Laherparepvec
The title of this thread is the name of a virus that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to use as therapy against certain cancers. This virus literally eats cancer cells, boosts the immune system, and leaves healthy cells untouched. While this is a significant victory for genetic engineering, it's not yet a miracle cure. In fact it's just barely a cure at all. But, it does leave the door open for future improvements, which in fact are being tested right now. We have heard about this approach before, but now it is a reality. http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/10/ ... y-arrived/
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Icey
Re: Talimogene Laherparepvec
Yes, let's hope that it proves to be another pathway towards stopping cancer cells from mutating and spreading. I understand that the virus comes from the herpes simplex one, and has shown to be slightly beneficial in melanoma cases.
Unfortunately, I think that the headline of: "Cancer killing viruses have finally arrived" is a little misleading. In tests of short duration, this treatment's shown to've extended life expectancy by a few months, but of course, this didn't happen in all cases. I'd like the research to develop into something which gives better results, but I think it's going to be a slow job. Each person's immune system's different from the next person's. Can they all be stimulated to work well enough to fight the cancer cells? We don't know. Because of treatment or natural reaction to cancer, some patients have a very low immune system that can't be boosted at present, whilst others soldier on for varying degrees of time, and even go into remission for years, but let's hope that this new virus technology may be the start of something very good.
Unfortunately, I think that the headline of: "Cancer killing viruses have finally arrived" is a little misleading. In tests of short duration, this treatment's shown to've extended life expectancy by a few months, but of course, this didn't happen in all cases. I'd like the research to develop into something which gives better results, but I think it's going to be a slow job. Each person's immune system's different from the next person's. Can they all be stimulated to work well enough to fight the cancer cells? We don't know. Because of treatment or natural reaction to cancer, some patients have a very low immune system that can't be boosted at present, whilst others soldier on for varying degrees of time, and even go into remission for years, but let's hope that this new virus technology may be the start of something very good.