Soon,
wonder jab that will kill 90% of cancers
A vaccine that kills 90% of cancers using the
body’s natural defence mechanisms could be widely available within six years,
scientists say.
Experts say the treatment has already freed
patients of the disease after just two doses.
They hope the treatment could provide a universal
injection to help millions of sufferers fight a range of cancers, including
those of the breast and prostate.
The vaccine ImMucin
works by triggering the immune system to seek out and destroy tumours, the
Daily Express reported. Cancer cells often flourish because they are not seen
as a threat by the body ?" unlike bacteria or viruses.
But the new vaccine uses a molecule called MUC1, found in 90% of cancers, to
train the immune system to recognise the rogue cells. Scientists have found
that by injecting the right level of MUC1
it can also trigger the body to fight them.
In a trial at the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem, 10
patients suffering a form of blood cancer were injected with ImMucin. After two to four courses of treatment,
seven saw their immune system strengthened and three were left free of the
disease.
The vaccine is designed for patients with cancer
rather than as a preventative jab.
It is believed it could be most effective
fighting tumours that are detected early or to help prevent the return and
spread of the disease where patients have been in remission.
The trials are now to be extended to more patients
and different types of cancer.
They are being run by drug company Vaxil Biotherapeutics and scientists at
Tel Aviv University.
A company spokesman said the first trial
“generated a robust and specific immune response in all patients which was
observed after only two to four doses of the vaccine out of a maximum of 12
doses”. Cancer charities gave the vaccine a cautious welcome.
Dr Kat
Arney, of Cancer Research
UK, said, “There are several groups around the world investigating treatments
that target MUC1 as it’s a
very interesting target involved in several types of cancer.
“These are very early results that are yet to be
fully published, so there’s a lot more work to be done to prove that this
particular vaccine is safe and effective,” Dr Arney added.
Source: www.dnaindia.com
10.04.2012
Pills 'better at curing appendix than surgery'
Two out of three
appendix removal operations may be unnecessary and could be avoided by simply
administering antibiotics, a new study has revealed.
Doctors often wrongly
believe that surgery is the only way to treat appendicitis, researchers said.
In cases of
uncomplicated appendicitis, where the organ has not become infected or
perforated, antibiotics are actually better than surgery, the study found.
A Nottingham University
team studied 900 patients with appendicitis.
About half were given
antibiotics while the rest underwent operations.
The study reported a
63% success rate among patients who were given antibiotics.
Just 20% of cases
require an operation, the researchers said.
“The role of antibiotic
treatment in acute uncomplicated appendicitis may have been overlooked mainly
on the basis of tradition rather than evidence,” the Sun quoted the
report.
“Antibiotics are both
effective and safe as primary treatment for patients with uncomplicated acute
appendicitis,” the report said.
An infected or inflamed
appendix has to be treated or removed before it bursts and causes a potentially
deadly infection.
Appendicitis hits about
7% of British people.
The study was published
in the British Medical Journal.
Source: www.dnaindia.com
10.04.2012
Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people
Eleanor Roosevelt
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