FDA Approves Drug That Uses Herpes Virus To Fight Cancer (nature.com) 76
An anonymous reader writes: U.S. regulators have approved a first-of-a-kind drug that uses the herpes virus to infiltrate and destroy melanoma. Nature reports: "With dozens of ongoing clinical trials of similar 'oncolytic' viruses, researchers hope that the approval will generate the enthusiasm and cash needed to spur further development of the approach. 'The era of the oncolytic virus is probably here,' says Stephen Russell, a cancer researcher and haematologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. 'I expect to see a great deal happening over the next few years.' Many viruses preferentially infect cancer cells. Malignancy can suppress normal antiviral responses, and sometimes the mutations that drive tumour growth also make cells more susceptible to infection. Viral infection can thus ravage a tumour while leaving abutting healthy cells untouched, says Brad Thompson, president of the pharmaceutical-development firm Oncolytics Biotech in Calgary, Canada."
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I used LSD and marijuana to cure my alcoholism.
I've heard that iboga is anothe very effective plant for treating addiction. Of course it's a Schedule 1 drug in the "Land Of The Free". Legal in Canada though, so I've also heard. The Schedule 1 classification is total bullshit. Iboga is not a "happy fun party drug" at all. It's not a pleasant experience. It's a trying experience during which you confront what is wrong with your life. Often you meet your ancestors and they help you discover why your life was so empty and meaningless that you acquire
Herpes, the love bug, rides again. (Score:4, Insightful)
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Don't pick on him. Tonight I was watching Episode 4 of some dumb show on Netflix with Sean Bean called "Legends" (because my wife was grading papers and there was nothing else on) and I figured there's be some shooting and car chases to pass the time and they had a newscaster mis-using eminent the same way, as in an "attack is eminent". Some highly-paid scriptwriter should have their
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Well... you never know..
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I'm not finding a ton of solace in the literary inaccuracy immanent in Hollywood script crafting.
Eminent death (Score:2)
Nice. How novel is that? As ugly as a cold sore is, how preferential it might be to eminent death...
I dunno... it might be a close call if I could get an eminent death out of it.
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Nice. How novel is that? As ugly as a cold sore is, how preferential it might be to eminent death...
The virus is modified to preferrentially attack only melanoma cells and not healthy cells so there minimal chance of getting a cold sore.
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Unless of course the melanoma was on your lip...
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It's a living organism, there is no such thing as "no chance" of anything. Living organisms mutate and do wildly unpredictable things in rare instances; hell, that's how we're able to discuss this. Now, that being said, the chances of something wildly rare and unpredictable happening with the virus versus the predictable sickness and death with the cancer, I'd take the virus any day but, not all people are that rational (just look at the anti-vaxxers).
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The theory is pretty old though, and well-known enough that there was a House episode on it (House VS God from Season 2).
There have been recordings of cancer remissions and tumors being shrunken by viruses since the 19th century, and we've known for a long time that the herpes virus is particularly effective at this.
What we didn't have before was a way to boost that efficacy to the level where it was a reliable treatment. Previous cases were almost entirely down to observed events in accidental infections.
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Nice. How novel is that? As ugly as a cold sore is, how preferential it might be to eminent death...
Depends - are we talking about a teenager?
Caves (Score:3)
mutations that drive tumour growth also make cells more susceptible to infection
Interesting. Like cave dwelling creatures who've "lost" (by process of evolution) their sense of sight in order to enhance other senses. It's all good until some other creature invents a flashlight.
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Someone just got here after watching the Republican debate.
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Indeed. Somebody who was apparently very threatened by what they saw watching the debate and thus riled up.
Re:Caves (Score:4, Informative)
Maybe not exactly like your example but more like creatures that lost their ability to run fast by overeating themselves to obesity, let loose a few bears and the fit ones will have much better chances of surviving.
Cancer cells are in general very susceptible to infection, many times you can grow viruses in cell cultures coming from organisms that are not susceptible to that virus because the cultures are cancer cells. The problem is to make the virus lethal enough to kill efficiently the cancer but tame enough so the normal cells and organs are not affected too much. Similar to live vaccines but with a much more difficult balance to keep.
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Yes, but none of that implies that the cave-dwelling creatures selected for the loss of sight so that their visual cortex could be repurposed. They're blind regardless of whether they could see if introduced to light.
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Yes, but none of that implies that the cave-dwelling creatures selected for the loss of sight so that their visual cortex could be repurposed. They're blind regardless of whether they could see if introduced to light.
Never said it did. Just that the brain has a certain plasticity, and can repurpose parts to provide greater processing power for the other senses when blind (mri studies show this).
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Herpes for Health. Curing cancer one night stand at a time.
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Maybe asking for a mercy fuck would be more reasonable now.
Old news (Score:4, Interesting)
Nice! (Score:2)
So like Legend but bad (distasteful sores)...
herpes virus to fight cancer (Score:2)
sweet, I'll never get cancer!
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Hmmmmmmm (Score:2)
"FDA Approves Drug That Uses Herpes Virus To Fight Cancer"
I have to admit, I feel somewhat conflicted about this.
And what about people who already have herpes, can they get a discount?
Disclaimer: I lived through the 1970's and didn't get herpes, a fact that I'm rather proud of considering all of the sleazy girls I banged during that decade. Luck of the draw, I guess.
Borg (Score:2)
I suspect the tumors will just add the viruses uniqueness to its own.
Instantly thought of Ice Pirates! Space Herpie (Score:1)
I work with one of the authors! (Score:3)
Would this cure be transmittable the old way? (Score:2)
Just think, they could rename brothels to be "treatment centers".
Reminds me of a Strangers With Candy episode (Score:1)