Borrego Springs, probably 2011
We have speculated, hopefully, several times about the
promise of gene therapy in the ultimate eradication of cancer. For instance, read this little gem:
Well, NCI has – behind my back! – begun to get serious about
it. They are running a vast, far-flung
trial to determine if targeting tumors according to their mutation(s) of origin
rather than their organ of choice will do any good. It works like this, more or less: If you are unfortunate enough to have a solid
tumor that no longer “responds” to standard treatment, and if your oncologist
is on the ball, you can have a biopsied sample sent to one of four regional
centers for genetic analysis. If the
analysis shows mutations in one or more genes known to be involved in various
cancers, common and rare (there is a depressingly long list), and one for which
some drug is already in use – you can get that drug. Heretofore if a clinician wanted to try drug
A, already approved for cancer B, on a patient with cancer C, he/she would have
been forced to ascend a mountain of bureaucratic dung to do so. Under NCI-MATCH, and under some (by no means
all) circumstances, this no longer is the case.
If there is a drug developed for prostate cancers targeting mutated gene
XYZ, and if your colon cancer has the same mutation – you can get the
drug. A rare example of common sense in
action.
This trial already has enrolled its first 500 subjects and
currently is closed while the statistics boys digest their preliminary
results. However, it will open again
soon and will be seeking several thousand subjects. It is free; even transportation costs are
minimized by establishing lots of local centers. For instance, Bellingham, WA residents can
simply take a bus to the local cancer center.
Even residents of my remote winter hideout, Borrego Springs, would merely
have to surmount the Peninsular Ranges, to San Diego, a 90 minute drive. Unfortunately, Linda’s sister Carolyn, located in
Eureka, CA, would be required to penetrate the lowering Redwood Barrier to
present herself to the nearest participating facility in Santa Rosa, many hours away. Perhaps this is part of the reason that she
plans to move to Ashville, NC, where hospitals (and hillbilly bands) are
everywhere.
So read all about it yourselves. This is progress, if still of a miserably incremental
kind. I am somewhat depressed by the low
bars seemingly set: “success” apparently is defined as merely slowing the growth of a
tumor, or prolonging remission by a period measured in months. No mention is made of ultimate mortality. But, hell – it’s still progress. Better than nothing.
There is a well-known piece of advice that we all should keep clearly in mind, especially when dealing with computers: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I have been getting along great with my cheap little lap top ever since I came into this howling desert wilderness in early December. All that time, however, Microsoft has been begging me to “upgrade” to Windows 10. Yesterday, in a fit of stupidity, I did. The inevitable, foreseeable, tragic result is that I can’t make the damned thing behave any more. It took me all afternoon to write this blog. I figure I averaged, net, 1.5 words per minute! I could chisel the damned thing into a stone slab almost that fast! Curse you, Bill Gates – why can’t you leave well enough alone?
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