Cancer cures

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A recent post on Facebook had a meme that talked about the tens of billions in taxpayer money spent on cancer cures with no results - "TIME TO END IT!"  The meme implored Musk to cut funding to research.

In truth, of course, we do now have cancer cures.  We have CAR T-Cell therapy, a way of training your own immune system to attack cancer cells.  It works on non solid tumor cancers like leukemias, myelomas and lymphomas.  The big risk to the therapy is that it starts such a strong immune response that the response itself may be dangerous, especially in someone who is already weakened by the cancer.  But if that's well managed it can be a 100% cure; you are then immune to that particular cancer.

Until recently, there was no similar cure for solid tumor cancers.  But there is now an ongoing trial for a treatment called autogene cevumeran for pancreatic cancers, one of the most deadly and hard to treat cancers.  In the autogene treatment, an mRNA vaccine is created that "identifies" the most common cancer antigens for that particular cancer to the immune system, and the immune system can then recognize and attack the tumor cells.  Again, since this kicks off an immune response, it can be a 100% cure - you will then have an immunity to that cancer, even if metastases show up later.  It is usually used after surgery to remove most of the tumor; the resected tumor is examined to determine which antigens to use, and then a vaccine is created to prevent recurrence in the future.

Pancreatic cancer is the first trial, but the process works for most solid tumor cancers, from brain cancers to lung cancers. It could actually be a broad cure.  This trial, therefore, is very important, because it will start to discover what the details in implementation are, what it works for, what it doesn't, and what the risks and side effects are.

So of course the Trump administration has cancelled any government funding for such a cure.  Specifically researchers have been told any grants that contain the acronym mRNA will not be considered - which the autogene therapy is based on.  One scientist involved summarized the intent: “There will not be any research funded by NIH on mRNA vaccines.  MAGA people are convinced that these vaccines have killed and maimed tens of thousands of people. It’s not true, but they believe that.”

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/nih-grants-mrna-vaccines-trump-administration-hhs-rfk/

 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08508-4

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/research/car-t-cells