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Scientists Selectively Trigger Suicide In Cancer Cells (scitechdaily.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the self-destructing-tumors dept.

Long-time Slashdot reader Baron_Yam quotes SciTechDaily: A team of researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine reveals the first compound that directly makes cancer cells commit suicide while sparing healthy cells. The new treatment approach was directed against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells but may also have potential for attacking other types of cancers.... AML accounts for nearly one-third of all new leukemia cases and kills more than 10,000 Americans each year. The survival rate for patients has remained at about 30 percent for several decades, so better treatments are urgently needed.
The team's computer screened a million compounds to determine the 500 most likely to bind to the "executioner protein" in cells. They then synthesized them all in their lab and evaluated their effectiveness.

3 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. Who funded the research? by darthsilun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Would it be grants from the U.S. Government by any chance? Kinda sounds like it.

    From http://www.einstein.yu.edu/new...:

    Funding for this research was provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (R01CA178394), and awards from the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research, the Gabrielle’s Angels Foundation for Cancer Research, and the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance. Partial support was also provided by the Albert Einstein Cancer Center, which is funded by the NCI.

    I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. The one where the protocol is patented and licensed to a private company that will charge obscene amounts of money for the medicine.

    Your tax dollars working hard for you.

    1. Re:Who funded the research? by Bryansix · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's not the point. The point is the reason cancer medication is said to cost a lot is because of research and development. However in this case, public funds paid for the R&D and as such, the resultant product should no be patented; but it will be anyways.

  2. Re:so much research, so little real benefits by michelcolman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yeah, I must admit that whenever I read articles like that, I'm like "they cured cancer again?". Oh, and let me guess, it also charges you up in 5 minutes and triples your range?

    We've made a little progress over the decades, but nowhere near what you'd expect from all the articles about revolutionary new treatments.