Posted on 09/03/2017 1:09:07 PM PDT by UnwashedPeasant
In the rich world, cancer therapy is expensive. In the developing world, it may not be available at all. Not only is cutting-edge technology in short supply, but so are things like electricity and medical personnel. The lack of necessary resources for basic healthcare is made obvious by the fact that, if diagnosed with cancer, a person in the developing world is more likely to die from it than a person in the developed world.
To help alleviate this problem, cheap, uncomplicated, portable, and preferably non-surgical treatments that do not require electricity are needed. Now, a team of researchers from Duke University has shown that injecting an ethanol-based gel directly into a specific type of tumor, called squamous cell carcinoma, resulted in a 100% cure rate in a hamster model.
The authors were already aware of a therapy known as ethanol ablation. If ethanol (the type of alcohol found in your favorite adult beverages) is injected into a tumor, it destroys proteins and causes the cells to dehydrate and die. Ethanol ablation is used to treat one type of liver cancer, and its success rate is similar to that of surgery. Better yet, it costs less than $5 per treatment.
Ethanol ablation faces several limitations. First, it only works well for tumors that are surrounded by a fibrous capsule. Second, it requires large amounts of ethanol, which can damage nearby tissue as it leaks out. And third, it requires multiple treatments.
To overcome these hurdles, the authors mixed ethanol with ethyl cellulose, creating a solution that when injected into the watery environment of a tumor turns into a gel, which remains close to the injection site. After they practiced injecting their solution into imitation tumors (what they called "mechanical phantoms"), the authors turned to a hamster model.
The team induced the formation of oral cancer (specifically, squamous cell carcinoma) in hamster cheek pouches by rubbing them with a carcinogen called DMBA. After about 22 weeks, tumors (without capsules) formed.
In the control group, tumors were injected with pure ethanol. The results were not good. After seven days, 0 of 5 tumors regressed completely. (Tumors injected with a large amount of ethanol -- four times the volume of the original tumor -- performed better: 4 of 12 regressed completely.) The results for the ethanol gel were far superior. After seven days, 6 of 7 tumors regressed completely. (By the eighth day, all 7 tumors were gone, for a cure rate of 100%.)
As merely a proof-of-concept in an animal model with small sample sizes, obviously more work needs to be done. Still, the results are incredibly promising. The team's findings suggest that merely a single injection of their special ethanol-based gel may be sufficient to cure certain types of tumors. They believe their technique may be applicable to some breast cancers and cervical precancerous lesions.
Furthermore, any technological advances that result from the team's research will have applicability not only to the developing world but to the developed one, as well.
Source: Robert Morhard, et al. "Development of enhanced ethanol ablation as an alternative to surgery in treatment of superficial solid tumors." Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 8750. Published: 18-Aug-2017. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-09371-2
Yes. But do not forget the pharmaceutical side of the complex. Doctors can only use the pharmaceuticals approved and available to them.
A doctor who goes against that system gets called a quack and loses his license, but not his school debt.
The Jack Daniels Jello shot cancer cure.
I guess I’d ask why this kind of well differentiated cancer couldn’t be simply surgically removed. Is this a solution looking for a problem? Although if something toxic had to be used on a tumor, ethanol sounds like one of the less risky things if it can be reasonably controlled. I wonder if some other food-ish or drink-ish substance could also be used to the same purpose. Don’t laugh, maybe Splenda?
I think the medical establishment has failed us at times but it was probably more out of sheer ignorance and institutional thinking. Doctors should be respected for their work and sometimes perform near-miracles but putting them too far up a pedestal isn’t good for them or is.
I’m glad to hear about your recovery and that you found a talented doctor.
And IPA kills MSRA.....on surfaces
This is a long way from actual clinical use
This isn’t so much a drug as a surgical technique, it reads like here. Generic medical grade ethanol would do just fine, I’d think.
The hyper-scientific model has still produced the best successes to date. At least they can whip out the numbers and there are fewer places for quackery to hide.
Yeah. People working in Health Care are pretty foul, evil people who would suppress medical discoveries and let their own loved ones die horrible deaths from cancer, just so they can continue making enough money to buy a new car and a bigger television.
Well the idea is to poison the tumor. If this can be done with carcinoma that would be impossible to deal with surgically but can be addressed through its blood supply, it might be worth a... shot.
“...resulted in a 100% cure rate in a hamster model”
Didn’t know that there were hamster models. Be interesting to see some pictures of the babes.
>> Why do most here need to see everything as a conspiracy <<
Welcome to the new FR!
(Conspiracy theories used to be outlawed.)
Good point.
Meanwhile, I am presently taking a pre-emptive strike on any cancers that might be hiding out in my alimentary canal.
[ They are in business to treat cancer, not cure cancer. ]
I have no doubt a cure for cancer has already been discovered and formulated. But as you said, the money is in the treatment.
Thanks!
We’re gonna need a Craftsman Injector to do $5/gal DIY cancer treatments.
Backing U up here...
Not doctors, but big Pharma will kill it.
Really? They must be a bunch of heartless, cruel, insidious, evil people.
:) Glad you’re on my team.
Well, it’s a rainy, chilly Sunday where I am right now, so a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do....
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