Disease: Glioblastoma / Brain Cancer

 Status: Effective vaccine, DCVax, for aggressive brain cancer.

Original Article: 

    https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/17/vaccine-shown-to-prolong-life-patients-aggressive-brain-cancer-trial-glioblastoma

Sources of claim: The Guardian, NHS

Quotes:  

    "Trial researchers found that newly diagnosed patients who had the vaccine survived for 19.3 months on average, compared with 16.5 months for those who received a placebo."

     "The vaccine is a form of immunotherapy, in which the body’s immune system is programmed to track down and attack the tumour. It is the first developed to tackle brain tumours."

“The vaccine is produced by combining proteins from a patient’s own tumour with their white blood cells. This educates the white cells to recognise the tumour."

"The vaccine “was shown to prolong life and interestingly so in patients traditionally considered to have poorer prognosis”, such as older people and people for whom surgery was not an option, he added."

     

My opinion:  Any  potential cure or treatment for brain cancer that has a success rate warrants further study, but this one appears to have strong evidence of efficacy.  Hopefully they can safely make a move to market.  Immunotherapy, yet again, is revealing itself as the key.  

Note: This blog does not provide medical advice and only seeks to catalog claims of potential cures / treatments that litter daily news sites.  For medical advice, please contact your primary care physician or other licensed medical doctor.

Disease: Cancer in general

Status: Immune system used to "destroy/eat" cancer cells.  Not tested in humans, research only.

Original Article: 

    https://futurism.com/neoscope/treatment-cancer-immunotherapy

Sources of claim: 

    "Peer-reviewed publication Cancer Cell" (per article above)

Quotes:  

"What if a drug could cause cancer cells to reveal themselves to the immune system, which could then target and kill them?  That's essentially the approach that a burgeoning form of cancer treatment — yet to be tested in humans — is adopting, as described in a new study published in the peer-reviewed publication Cancer Cell on Monday."

My opinion:  Immunotherapy is used in cancer research and treatment, and studies continue to be released that suggest at more efficacious treatment.  More often than not they are anecdotal, limited or not being used in human patients yet.  It is certainly promising, but unlike other articles that boast research-backed, specific cures, these claims are purely experimental.  We can only hope at more positive news.

Note: This blog does not provide medical advice and only seeks to catalog claims of potential cures / treatments that litter daily news sites.  For medical advice, please contact your primary care physician or other licensed medical doctor.

Condition: High Blood Pressure

Status: Breathing exercises can help to lower blood pressure per recent studies, anecdotal results.  

Original Article: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/09/20/1123500781/daily-breath-training-can-work-as-well-as-medicine-to-reduce-high-blood-pressure

Sources of claim: NPR, 

Quotes:  

So, how exactly does breath training lower blood pressure? Craighead points to the role of endothelial cells, which line our blood vessels and promote the production of nitric oxide — a key compound that protects the heart. Nitric oxide helps widen our blood vessels, promoting good blood flow, which prevents the buildup of plaque in arteries. "What we found was that six weeks of IMST [inspiratory-muscle strength training] will increase endothelial function by about 45%," Craighead explains.

It has long been known that deep diaphragmatic breathing — often used during meditation or mindfulness practices — can help lower blood pressure too. Muscle training with the PowerBreathe device works in a similar way, engaging the breathing muscles and promoting the production of nitric oxide.

My opinion:  Device not really necessary, controlled breathing exercises and meditation are probably just as effective.  The article highlights this multiple times and uses existing research.  The PowerBreathe device is just a shortcut for people who are looking to maximize results and minimize effort.  I'm not sold.

Note: This blog does not provide medical advice and only seeks to catalog claims of potential cures / treatments that litter daily news sites.  For medical advice, please contact your primary care physician or other licensed medical doctor.

Disease: Prostate Cancer: Cured with new procedure

Status: Cured, but needs more research / application.

Original Article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/02/one-hour-operation-could-cure-prostate-cancer-destroying-tumours/

Sources of claim:  NHS, Uni. Colelge of London.  Verified legitimate

Quotes:  

Surgeons said the new therapy, called Nanoknife – which has now been used to treat prostate cancer patients by University College London Hospital (UCLH) – was "amazingly simple and quick", reducing the chance of a host of side effects.

The new technique, called irreversible electroporation, administers quick electrical pulses into the tumour, cutting open the membrane of the cells. It means treatment can be targeted with ultra precision, posing fewer risks to surrounding organs and healthy tissues. It can also be used on tumours that were previously difficult to treat. 

 

My opinion:  Fantastic news with new targeting approach.  There are other, similarly successful focused approaches.  Hopefully this trend continues, more research and application are needed.

-Steve

Note: This blog does not provide medical advice and only seeks to catalog claims of potential cures / treatments that litter daily news sites.  For medical advice, please contact your primary care physician or other licensed medical doctor.

Disease: Rectal Cancer w/ specific mutation

Status:  CURED(with caveats)  For a subset of rectal cancer patients with a specific mutation, there is a very high chance of 100% remission.

 Original Article: https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/cancer-trial-amazingly-results-in-100-remission-in-every-patient

Sources of claim:   Verified legitimate

                    Memorial Sloan-Kettering:  https://www.mskcc.org/news/rectal-cancer-disappears-after-experimental-use-immunotherapy

                    New England Journal of Medicine: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2201445                                         

Quotes:  

"The MSK clinical trial was investigating — for the first time ever — if immunotherapy alone could beat rectal cancer that had not spread to other tissues, in a subset of patients whose tumor contain a specific genetic mutation."

"These same remarkable results would be repeated for all 14 people — and counting — in the MSK clinical trial for rectal cancer with a particular mutation. While it’s a small trial so far, the results are so impressive they were published in The New England Journal of Medicine."

(From the journal, heavy on the medical terminology!)  "A total of 12 patients have completed treatment with dostarlimab and have undergone at least 6 months of follow-up. All 12 patients (100%; 95% confidence interval, 74 to 100) had a clinical complete response, with no evidence of tumor on magnetic resonance imaging, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose–positron-emission tomography, endoscopic evaluation, digital rectal examination, or biopsy. At the time of this report, no patients had received chemoradiotherapy or undergone surgery, and no cases of progression or recurrence had been reported during follow-up (range, 6 to 25 months). No adverse events of grade 3 or higher have been reported."

My opinion:  Immunotherapy is a fascinating area of cancer research and I read quite a few articles about it's use in cancer treatment every day or so.  Radiation is such a destructive process, any targeted form of treatment that dispenses with radiation is a positive development.  We can only hope articles with this type of success continue.

-Steve

Note: This blog does not provide medical advice and only seeks to catalog claims of potential cures / treatments that litter daily news sites.  For medical advice, please contact your primary care physician or other licensed medical doctor.

Disease: Multiple Sclerosis

Status:  It appears we know the cause to be the Epstein-Barr Virus, there is no "cure" only studies that point to "causality."  Research continues.

Original article:  https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/harvard-study-discovers-the-cause-of-multiple-sclerosis-and-how-to-prevent-it

Sources of claim:  Legitimate website.

    Science.org journal:  https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj8222

QUOTES:

Currently there is no way to effectively prevent or treat EBV infection, but an EBV vaccine or targeting the virus with EBV-specific antiviral drugs could ultimately prevent or cure MS,” said Ascherio.

My opinion:  This is great news, but don't get your hopes up.  Treatment is not happening as of yet, this is simply stronger evidence of a potential treatment focus moving forward.

-Steve

Note: This blog does not provide medical advice and only seeks to catalog claims of potential cures / treatments that litter daily news sites.  For medical advice, please contact your primary care physician or other licensed medical doctor