Panel Endorses New Anti-Tumor Treatment
A Settle biotechnology company has developed a therapy that would direct a cancer patients own immune system to attack tumors. The treatment, Provenge, involves mixing a “patient’s immune cells with a genetically engineered protein… [that] stimulates the immune system to attack any cells bearing”[1] a molecule found almost only in prostate cancer cells. Only one other drug has increased the life span of men with prostate cancer, but the drug, Taxotere, has very unfavorable, severe side effects. Many men are pushing for the FDA’s approval of the treatment. Some just hope to live long enough to see their kids grow up.
John F. Prudden, 78, Surgeon and Researcher
The cartilage of certain animals has many medical uses. Prudden used medicines made from shark, cow, and reptile cartilage to treat diseases and heal wounds. He also found that “bovine cartilage contained a protein that stimulated the immune system and inhibited the growth of blood vessels that tumors depended upon for nourishment”[2]. He developed the idea that it could be used in cancer treatment to starve tumors and increase the body’s production of T-cells. Drugs following this concept, like Avastin, cut off a tumor’s blood supply to treat the disease.
For Breast Health, Take the Initiative
“Many women have symptoms of breast disease, but few have cancer”[3]. This fact causes many to not take the possible symptoms seriously, letting cancer go unchecked until it is too late. Knowing when to diagnose and treat can be difficult for physicians, so it is up to the individual to be proactive. Choosing not to wait, knowing what is normal, and understanding calcifications are important factors of breast health. Most common breast lumps are benign and test negative by mammogram. However, 15% of cancers are overlooked by mammography and require a sonogram to be detected.
Sales of Test for Ovarian Cancer Halted
After being given a warning from the...