The public is alarmed and frustrated by reports of substandard chemotherapy drugs from India, raising serious safety concerns for cancer patients. There is a strong demand for accountability and rigorous regulatory measures, along with significant skepticism towards the pharmaceutical industry and the efficacy of new cancer treatments. People express both outrage over the quality of existing treatments and cautious hope for potential new therapies, albeit mixed with doubts about their trustworthiness.

Pharmaceutical Companies

Regulatory Bodies

Healthcare Providers

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Dr_Singularity:

---

It was a small trial, just 18 rectal cancer patients, every one of whom took the same drug.

But the results were astonishing. The cancer vanished in every single patient, undetectable by physical exam, endoscopy, PET scans or M.R.I. scans.

Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr. of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, an author of a paper published Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine describing the results, which were sponsored by the drug company GlaxoSmithKline, said he knew of no other study in which a treatment completely obliterated a cancer in every patient.

“I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer,” Dr. Diaz said.

---

 Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/v5r3ur/a_cancer_trials_unexpected_result_it_was_a_small/ibbd6uq/

FuturologyBot

GlaxoSmithKline if anyone is in a betting mood.

*"Dr. Alan P. Venook, a colorectal cancer specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved with the study, said he also thought this was a first.*

*A complete remission in every single patient is “unheard-of,” he said."*

*"Another surprise, Dr. Venook added, was that none of the patients had clinically significant complications."*

That is equally as astonishing.

shillyshally

I posted this on another thread regarding this article, and just wanted to put this information here as well.

Just wanted to give some background as an oncologist. Very exciting data for this patient population, but I want to to clarify what this trial truly studied. We have been using immunotherapy (in this case PDL-1/PD-1 inhibitors) for years in many different types of cancer (lung cancer, colon cancer,  melanoma, genitourinary cancers, liver cancers, you name it). As the years have gone by, it's gained approval in more and more cancer types.

The important thing this study was evaluating was using it as a neoadjuvant therapy (before surgery essentially) in patients with early stage rectal cancer who express what we call a mismatch repair deficiency. Meaning there's specific genetic abnormalities that we see in this patient population, and these genetic abnormalities are only seen in a small fraction of patients with this disease. The goal of this study was to see if surgery could essentially be avoided without changing outcomes in  patients who had a complete response.

We know already that immunotherapy works very well in colon cancer with these genetic abnormalities. It has been approved as first line therapy for patients with metastatic mismatch repair deficient colorectal cancer for years, and while I have seen great results (people years out from treatment with no evidence of disease), the response rates in metastatic disease is much lower. Typically 40-50%. 

So while this is amazing data that may save patients with early rectal cancer from having to undergo curative intent surgery following immunotherapy and chemoradiation, I just want to share how the scientific community actually interprets this data. I want to acknowledge how incredible some of the results have been that I see with these drugs. They have been a gamechanger for oncology these past several years. With each new study, I'm hopeful we'll find more ways to utilize them and save lives in doing so.

Danimerry

It was a small trial, just 18 rectal cancer patients, every one of whom took the same drug.

But the results were astonishing. The cancer vanished in every single patient, undetectable by physical exam, endoscopy, PET scans or M.R.I. scans.

Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr. of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, an author of a paper published Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine describing the results, which were sponsored by the drug company GlaxoSmithKline, said he knew of no other study in which a treatment completely obliterated a cancer in every patient.

“I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer,” Dr. Diaz said.

Dr_Singularity

This is groundbreaking and needs larger trials. And it begs the question:
 
If it's this effective on rectal cancer, what about other cancers?

Capn_Crusty

Oh sure, now they figure this out! JK Colon cancer survivor here. This is good news!

Flyman68

Isnt cancer always a bunch of different mutations even in the same person, so to get all of them seems incredible?

nexostar

[deleted]

This was uplifting until:

*The medication was given every three weeks for six months and cost about $11,000 per dose.*

Once again reiterating that the worst disease in America is poverty.

AyebruhamLincoln

If anyone has ANY information on how I can get involved in something like this, please help. I tried to apply for that mRNA trial that had pretty good results, but no dice. The most frustrating part is I have this exact cancer and I'm being treated at this facility....

psykoninja

\*It unmasks cancer cells, allowing the immune system to identify and destroy them.\*

the strength of our body

kajtebriga1

Wow. I know someone that died from this. I feel bad for their family if they read this.

Fabulous-Ad6844

Metastatic cervical cancer patient in treatment for my 3rd recurrence checking in, 

Just received this immunotherapy last week, will have a scan later this month and happy to update with results ☺️

Science is awesome 👏🏼

ohgoodthnks

Just went to a conference last week about checkpoint inhibitors like this, they made the point that they aren’t found to be particularly useful in GI cancers yet, but probably would be soon. That was quick.

hoorjdustbin

“11’000$ per dose” bro why you gotta play us like that

DraconicWF

The medication is dostarlimab, a monoclonal antibody PD-1 inhibitor. PD1 is a protein that is used by the body to contain the amount of host cells killed during an autoimmune disease. However this suppression of the immune system may cause cancer cells to remain undetected.

nyqs81

Both my mother and father passed from cancer. It's good to see advancements being made, and hope by the time I pass, my son won't have to worry too much about it.

ThispieisaPipebomb

Given how truly dreadful rectal cancers are in their complete degradation of a person this is incredible news.  We can only hope this translates to a drug used sooner rather then later for at least some types of rectal cancer.

CaptainSur

Sounds like this is definitely worth more research.

QVRedit

Well if it seems that amazing, time to ramp up the number of test subjects. Get more rectal cancer patients. Make it happen in more people. Heck maybe even other types of cancer? Fuck cancer.

Anthraxious

Now i miss my grandpa even more who died from cancer :(

Sorenalike

"she had her ovaries removed and put back under her ribs."... I learned something new today. You can apparently store your ovaries in your rib cage until you're ready to use them.

short_and_floofy

hope this can be replicated in bigger groups!! amazing

Filet-Minyon

This almost made me cry. This type of cancer took my cousin in a matter of 6 months. I really hope other people can avoid this pain and sorrow caused by this.

PrestigiousAd1523

Am I the only one surprised at removing ovaries and putting them under the ribs?

axxxle

The FDA probably won't allow it to be used for another 20 years...

urbanaut

/half snark

Update, drug formula lost because of bad servers.  Said pharmaceutical rep, "Um, yeah it was lost data, not anything close to because we didn't want to CURE stuff we want long term treatment regimens that can charge for."

Vash_the_stayhome

Sounds like in this study there was some nice sunshine where normally the sun doesn't shine.

Wrecked em? No way, they got better!

Zalenka

I had an attending in residency joke at a grand rounds about Radiology getting replaced by AI, but “surgeons can’t be replaced.” I offered to bet her money that her job would be obsolete by the time she retired. She was in colorectal surgery, and I am looking forward to bankrupting her, so this is most excellent news.

TurnDown4WattGaming

Watch it get swept under the rug and unavailable to the general public.  Only sick people spend money on drugs.

beeekeeer

Monoclonal antibody, of course. Mabs are the future of medicine. I would surmise that this is legit. More works needs to be done, but we’re on the cusp.

nishbot

Is it in America? If so have fun paying your life savings because “it’s business” and it’s never about genuinely improving everyone’s life

No_Path_4931

Patent it before it vanishes like so many other cancer tech

Aaaaaaand it’s gone. That’s the last we’ll ever hear of it.
 
Edit: /s

jusdont

Does anyone else read these articles and think "cool, I'll be dead before any of this ever helps protect humans"?

mk2vr6t

I’m sure the Pharma industry is working hard to make it less effective and more profitable!

Some tv star farts on air and it gets hundreds of thousands of upvotes. Here we have break through discovery that will save fuck knows how many lives and only 15000 upvotes. Reddit really shows how fucking stupid peasants are.

wisdom_generator

This will all of a sudden disappear and get swept under the rug… certain people can’t make a profit if a cure for cancer is found… capitalism 101

B0ogi3m4n

Wait until the greedy pigs over at wallstreet get word of this. They will cellarbox the company shorting it out of existence with synthetics shorts then acquire and get rid of anything beneficial that could save lives. Because they own companies that make millions by treating people instead of curing them.

Bayunc0

On one hand, I don’t know if you can even call it a “study” at n=18, but having it happen to every single participant can’t be a coincidence

LeeroyDagnasty

Is this a good thing or will this drug be patented and locked in a drawer?

johnorso

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_The naturally-occurring nucleoside analogue known as Cordycepin (a.k.a 3’-deoxyadenosine) is found in the Himalayan fungus Cordyceps sinensis and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years to treat cancers and other inflammatory diseases. However, it breaks down quickly in the blood stream, so a minimal amount of cancer-destroying drug is delivered to the tumour. In order to improve its potency and clinically assess its applications as a cancer drug, biopharmaceutical company NuCana has developed Cordycepin into a clinical therapy, using their novel ProTide technology, to create a chemotherapy drug with dramatically improved efficacy._

coincrazyy

Shouldn't the chemotherapy drug be compared to the efficacy of other chemo drugs instead of the centuries old herbal medicine?

DontForgetWilson

Killing cancer cells is easy. 

Killing cancer cells without killing the patient as well is hard.

Mantraz

I saw a documentary where they goto find these fungi in Nepal. it takes like a week to get to some certain field through some crazy rocks and cliffs. and you need to crawl all day looking for these. it's seriously insane.

cjeremy

Yarshagumba.
Every year locals go in numbers of hundred to thousands to pick it up in the hills of Nepal.

pkhadka1

Thermite is 100% effective in killing cancer cells

stafer1995

40 times greater than 0 is 0. No context makes me hate this headline.

and_dont_blink

It’s a parasite.  Becoming quite rare to find now as it lives in a moth before breaking out of it.  Also costs a fortune in China and due to heavy metals in the ground due to pollution, it can be toxic.  I used to live in China.

Consistent_Mode_7425

Gathering this wierd fungus that only grows on a certain species' dead caterpillar (if I remember right) is completely screwing up some of the wildest and most beautiful parts of the Himalaya, Dolpo for example. 

There is a "fungus rush" to find and dig up these fungi that are worth huge amounts, compared to local incomes. This is for Chinese traditional medecine.

antiquemule

Please remember that the vast vast majority of drugs to go into the first clinical trial testing stage don't move on to the second stage, for a multitude of reasons.

someoneelsesfriend

Waiting for my fellow indians to claim their ancestors knew this thousands of years ago

d0aflamingo

I have a feeling I will never hear about this Himalayan fungus again, but fingers crossed

dgafit

If they can't secure or enforce a monopoly right over the chemical using a patent, nobody will fund the clinical trials to get regulatory approval, because governments don't pay for off-patent drugs or nutraceuticals.

For example, US Government agreed to pay $1.2 billion for Merck's new patented COVID-19 drug molnupiravir, that allegedly reduces hospitalisation by 50%, and could generate $7 billion in revenue due to Merck charging $712 for a 5-day course. Compare this to its estimated $17.74 cost to the company and the fact that it is a result of $29m of public funding provided to Emory University, with Merck only funding the last stages of development. Also, as it is a new drug, we are still not sure about its long-term safety.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-merck-covid-pill-cost-b1933100.html](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-merck-covid-pill-cost-b1933100.html)

Meanwhile, L-arginine, a low cost, safe and effective amino-acid, was found to have similar efficacy against Covid by reducing hospitalisation in a Phase 2 randomised controlled trial published in the world's leading medical journal, the Lancet.

[https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00405-3/fulltext](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00405-3/fulltext)

However, there are almost no private financial incentives to repurpose off-patent drugs and nutraceuticals/dietary supplements to treat new diseases because it is not possible or very difficult to enforce a monopoly price using patents by preventing off-label competition - the "tragedy of the commons."

If payers could back a pay for success contract with only 1% of what the US govt agreed to pay for molnupiravir, this would solve the tragedy of the commons. By creating a $12m reward to incentivise a private company to fund the Phase 3 clinical trials required to repurpose an off-patent drug or nutraceutical to achieve regulatory approval, it would help millions of people have access to additional low cost, safe and effective therapeutics.

MedicalPrize

Another great new cancer treatment? I know what sub I'm on, on r/science I see a revolutionary new cancer treatment every 48h. Do we ever hear about any of them again? No

The_ANNOholic

It's huge in Chinese medicine, but very pricey because of over harvesting and criminals in the business. It uses to be a common soup ingredient amongst southern Chinese. Lots of anecdotal support. My wife used in when she had nasopharyngeal cancer. More as an energy immune system builder. The Polytech U in Hong Kong was behind a lot of research. Seems to have some proven pedigree. It's the used shell of a bug, much like a butterfly pupae.

DURIAN8888

Here's a related paper from the NIH on Cordyceps so people can get a better understanding on it.  
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3121254/  
I'm a bit skeptical but will keep an open mind.

xios42

A little side note, but this is why it's important to protect our biodiversity.

What if there was a cure for covid in Amazon jungles but some idiot just bulldozed the last standing tree?

nastygeek

Cancer cells are very similar to normal cells. Did they bother to check if the drug isn't also 40 times better at killing normal cells?

SmLnine

Zappafied

Cordycepin is used in molecular biology labs routinely to inhibit transcription. There are many other drugs that do the same with small differences in precisely how they inhibit transcription. None of these will cure cancer by themselves, but in a chemo cocktail they might have some benefit.

Slaatje_Bla

This comment may be removed and that’s fine. But why is it that in this sub, a “cure” or “huge” breakthrough in cancer treatment/research is posted?

Correct me if I sound like an idiot but does this title effectively say: “cancer drug is 40 times more effective at treating cancer than naturally occurring fungus”?

LengthJolly2058

It's wild to me that this article makes no mention of the fact that this is a parasitic fungus that grows out from caterpillars. They even went as far as to include a photo of a bunch of dead, fungus-infested caterpillars - and not a word!

eolai

ameerdink

93wasagoodyear

It's a shame most of these discoveries are made in partnership with private firms now. Feels like the source of new knowledge has been captured, and little escapes free to the public.

Always knew those monks held things the western world could use as medicine

Clarkiieh

This is yartsa gunbu in Tibetan (Literally: summer-grass, winter-bug)

It goes for huge prices in China. One of the main sources of cash revenue for many Tibetan families, some of whom get crazy rich from the sale of it. It's also the cause of a lot of hard feelings in Tibetan communities as well - villages can fight over who has rights to the lands where it grows, and it also creates great wealth inequality, etc.

BlancheDevereux

If anyone's interested, cordyceps militaris is a similar species researchers have had success cultivating. We are not dependent on the wild type Himalayan fungus to support large scale rollout of cordyceps-based medicines.

juanthebaker

metformin, usually prescribed for diabetes, has a wide range of off label, anti-aging uses

uniklyqualifd

Fun fact: an Australian cancer research team [discovered that a cheap and safe generic anti-nausea drug $compazine/stemetil$ increased the response rate to a cancer drug $cetuximab$ from 15% to almost 100%.](https://medicine.uq.edu.au/article/2020/03/new-drug-combination-could-support-better-cancer-treatments) The generic drug altered the cancer cell's surface to make it more responsive to the cancer drug.

[They had to fund-raise to pay for their own Phase II drug trial because no venture capital firms or drug companies were willing to pay for research into a treatment where the outcome doesn't make them enough money.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaOWeeNPMJw)

PointlessTrivia

el_ojo420

In Brazil it costs less than 1USD for a box with 30 pills. Generic medications are trully amazing.

Gentle_Capybara

Metformin and GLP-1 RAs seem like miracle drugs because the primary problem in the developed world is that people eat too much.

turb0_encapsulator

20cents now.  Colchicine was an over- the- counter drug for gout.   It was so effective that the FDA gave rights to it to pharmaceutical company.  The cost went from pennies to dollars.   It's still  OTC and pennies in other countries.

polebridge

Don’t worry, it’ll still be $1500 for Americans

Why-U-Cold

The key to metformin is that it changes the way the body processes sugar, and encourages the body to enter ‘autophagy’, a state where the body self cleans and removes old and dying cells. 

You can also enter this state by partaking in intermittent fasting. 

TLDR: never letting your body experience hunger is like never turning off your computer. Reboot that thang every once in awhile. 

Squidssential

And it suddenly it's goes up x666 in price

JohnnyDerpington

Patiently awaiting the wide release where the pharmaceutical companies sell it at a 15,000% markup per tablet

antithesis56

Metformin isn’t something you take like a supplement. You really have to monitor your blood sugar.   

I tried it to reduce my A1C.  Would take it with breakfast.  One day I almost fainted from low blood sugar.  Not for the feint of heart. No pun there.

ArtODealio

mazman27

Every week I am hearing a new benefit of metformin. I just want it to stay cheap enough that I don’t lose my toes.

Betterthanbeer

Been taking it at 250mg/day for this purpose for the last 7 months I had a concerning screening. We shall see in 5 months...

The study protocol I'm following:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26947328/

Adept-90

I don’t have high hopes for this, honestly. This data isn’t exactly novel and hasn’t yet meaningfully made it to controlled trials. At best, it will probably be an add-on to standard anti-cancer therapies.

Also, a lot of folks are joking how pharma will somehow turn metformin into a five-figure-a-month drug. That’s not going to happen. It doesn’t work that way.

Chrollo220

Hmm my uncle has been on metformin for 20 years. And got colon cancer in 2019 and had surgery to have it removed. Definitely didn’t work for him lol.

widowskeeper-ice

Topherstiles

I knew this was going to be about metformin before I even opened the post

vindman

Why would someone take a drug that gives constant diarrhea? Even the XR version.

No-Entrance9308

20 cent cancer fighting drug you say? The US will reduce it’s effectiveness and sell it for 2k a bottle

Puzzleheaded-Ring-96

An investigation has revealed that many chemotherapy drugs, especially those from India, failed quality standards, endangering cancer patients worldwide due to ineffective treatments.

Substandard Cancer Drugs

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