1. Let's talk about it?

Posted at 11:08AM on Sep 5th 2006 by Terr

2. Tumor immunotherapy studies were prematurely abandoned during the early 90's. One such study was a concept of in situ cancer vaccination based upon studies of biologic response modifiers in an assay. Preliminary results found a striking association between the activity of biologic response modifiers which activate macrophages and the prior treatment status of patients with breast and ovarian cancers. Effective chemotherapy produced a massive release and processing of tumor antigens, which led to a state in which the human immune system, via in situ cancer vaccination, responded to exogenous macrophage activation signals with potent and specific anti-tumor effects.

I'm also glad to see the resurgence of aggressive cancer vaccine research. Criticism of this research would be typical of those that favor attempts to identify one-size-fits-all treatments through trial-and-error testing. Circumscription of the clinical initiative by researchers to help patients advances a naive fundamentalism. The choice of researchers to integrate promising insights and methods remains an essential component of new paradigms of cancer treatment.

Posted at 12:17AM on Sep 6th 2006 by Gregory D. Pawelski