Herpes to cure cancer?

[Kwacky]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... cells.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I caught this on the news this morning.

In people with advanced skin cancer they've created a virus using the coldsore virus which hunts out cancer cells, invades them, causes the cell to explode and triggers the body's immune system. Once they've done their job on the original source the introduced cells go off looking for other cancer cells to do the same. The expert they were interviewing his morning said it won't work with all cancers but it should do with cancer that has higher mutations, like lung and bowel cancer.

[Blade]

Amazing news. Any progress on the dread C disease is hugely welcomed by everyone.

[kiwikrasher]

wish my cold sore virus had've hunted down my skin cancer cells before I needed a skin graft!

Seriously though, good news they are making discovers and progress like this.

[Perkles]

This news 1st broke in 2002 but never made the headlines unfortunately

[Kwacky]

Really? How come it's taken so long to be researched and developed?

[D6]

It must work. I have herpes and no cancer currently.

[Monty]

Really? How come it's taken so long to be researched and developed?

You can't patent Herpes!

Said in jest, but the pessimist in me thinks there maybe an element of truth in it

[kiwikrasher]

The findings revealed that 16.3 per cent of the group taking T-VEC showed a durable treatment response of more than six months, compared with 2.1 per cent of the control group.
Some of the patients taking part showed a response extending in excess of three years - a mark oncologists often use as a benchmark for cure in immunotherapy.
In 40 per cent of cases in which it worked, the tumors vanished or shrunk by more than half.

When you look at those figures it doesn't really paint a good success rate. Not denying it's great that they've made advances, but going by the above only 6.5% (40% of the 16.3%) had their tumours significantly affected. And by the sounds of it, it's rather expensive to the point the NHS may not consider it. Still a ways to go although encouraging all the same.

[D6]

You mean I have herpes for nothing?

[duke63]

We spend billions trying to cure cancer...yet allow companies to sell shite labelled as food containing loads of carcinogens.

Go figure!

[Kwacky]

You can't patent Herpes!

Said in jest, but the pessimist in me thinks there maybe an element of truth in it

But you can patent the virus you engineer from the herpes virus.

[Roadrace]

Bizarrely, the day before this news broke, I watched "I Legend" in which a cure for cancer was derived from the measles virus.....a warning perhaps?

[bb41]

If this is true then maybe I will dodge the dreaded as I've suffered with cold sores all my life at times of stress. Thankfully a treatment i buy in the US keeps them from erupting so as not to have to wear a crash helmet when it happens

I'm not sure we will ever find the cure in it's entirety but I would like to see better meds for late stage cancer after watching the last few days of my Mum's life .

Palliative care is still hit and miss and I for one would like to see help with the dying process. Not exactly assisted suicide but it wasn't until a couple of days before Mum died that they put a morphine driver in filled with a sedative.

They should have done this a week earlier as then she was still awake and lucid at times and was very fearful of death, it made her sad and scared as well as the pain she endured

[Kwacky]

I agree.

I'm a supporter of this lot: http://www.dignityindying.org.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bb41]

I will look at that report in depth ,
I can't believe even now that we wouldn't put our animals through it and yet we allow our loved ones to.

When we are only weeks or days away from death and still in sound mind then this should be discussed with the patient. My Mum requested the "do not resusitate" forms quite early on (approx 3 weeks earlier)

She had a flesh eating bug in a bed sore which they couldn't dress anymore , the pain was awful , no hope of recovery so she just waited .

I saw a very strong woman become very scared and fearful, but it's almost as bad to watch your loved one go through it.

She asked me to help her 2 weeks before she finally died but I couldn't do it, I wish I could but I didn't have the nerve..

Also when she finally succumbed she was left in our family living room for over 4 hours before she was collected in what can only be a death van, with other bodies in the back.

We carried on talking and making tea all the while not knowing quite what to do. Not enough dignity for end of life care at all.

Kwacky I will read through that site and give my support , I don't want the same thing happening to me