Cancer: Possible New Treatment

[Economy 52,842]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-the-telomeres-in-cance/ http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/telomeres/

 

As part of aging each time a cell divides part of the telomer gets used up... after a cell divides a certain amount of times the telomers get too short and the cell stops dividing and then dies

 

Cancer cells escape this fate by producing an enzyme that prevents the shortnening of telomers and as a result can divide indefinitely. That same enzyme is present in reproductive cells which prevents each generation from having less cells divisions left than past generation

 

There is another enzyme that neutralizes that telomerase enzyme and if it works would stop cancer cells from achieving imortality

 

The hard part would be to get the neutralizing enzyme absorbed specifically by cancer cells without causing sterility or potential harm to other cells

[littlepotter 76,610]

i hope this is a big step forward

[Morphine Prince 109,649]

I've read about this topic before with telomeres. It's interesting. Hopefully it leads to some form of discovery on the subject. I wouldn't get my hopes up too much though. 

[Economy 52,842]

2 minutes ago, Morphine Prince said:

I've read about this topic before with telomeres. It's interesting. Hopefully it leads to some form of discovery on the subject. I wouldn't get my hopes up too much though. 

It may also make way to extend human lifespan one day

 

they have been able to use this enzyme to make cells in a lab divide more times than normal but... it would be much harder to do it for the entire body

[Chic 20,830]

6 minutes ago, Economy said:

It may also make way to extend human lifespan one day

 

they have been able to use this enzyme to make cells in a lab divide more times than normal but... it would be much harder to do it for the entire body

It's fascinating because we're the only species on earth to have this level of comprehension on ourselves. We're the only species that understands what our bodies are made of, even at a basic level. There's no telling what we can discover because we're the pioneers of this field, this is all uncharted territory. So it's fascinating and actually quite fun to see this biological puzzle worked on with the hope of solving it, like we're given this complex object and told to disassemble it and figure out how to make it work to the best of its ability. It's just so intriguing to me. Look how far we've pushed the limits of the human lifespan already, look how we can cure things that centuries ago were uncurable. It's amazing.

[theARTVampire 3,800]

That's great!! but the thing is......it would cause a huge money loss on the medicine/hospital market....chemo therapy and radiation are profit sources....

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

10 minutes ago, theARTVampire said:

That's great!! but the thing is......it would cause a huge money loss on the medicine/hospital market....chemo therapy and radiation are profit sources....

This...the "system" would crumble if a cure existed.

It would be SIGNIFICANTLY expensive to attain, so only the elite would be able to cure themselves whereas the poor would still need to go through chemo and radiation and HOPE they can fight it and survive

[AmericanGUY 4,609]

hurts so much knowing Sonja could have been saved with something like this

[Edonis 28,974]

25 minutes ago, theARTVampire said:

That's great!! but the thing is......it would cause a huge money loss on the medicine/hospital market....chemo therapy and radiation are profit sources....

It really wouldn’t though, and this logic (that stems from another idea that any one disease or drug is being withheld intentionally so that the industry and can profit from it) is completely untrue. 

Cancer treatments are determined by the intrinsic nature of the tumor. Not all therapies are universal even in the case of this potential alternative. Because of that, the need for multiple therapy options will always be in play. Certain cancers will not respond to radiation, or chemo, or even targeted gene therapies. The industry of science and medicine isn’t depended wholeheartedly on one treatment option. That’s also not taking into account that many chemo drugs are used in treating diseases other than cancer as well as radiation therapy. It’s way more complex than just assuming that the market will collapse from faster and more effective cures 

And let’s say in the event that a cure for cancer is found. Well? Doctors will still be required to administer treatments. Researchers will still have to elucidate the machinery of cancer. You’d be surprised how very little we actually know about Science and Biology. My professor said something along the lines of “For every one discovery, there are two more mysteries right behind it”. And it’s true. Once you learn about something, or discover a treatment, you inadvertently raise even more questions and even more possibilities. 

[Economy 52,842]

1 hour ago, Chic said:

It's fascinating because we're the only species on earth to have this level of comprehension on ourselves. We're the only species that understands what our bodies are made of, even at a basic level. There's no telling what we can discover because we're the pioneers of this field, this is all uncharted territory. So it's fascinating and actually quite fun to see this biological puzzle worked on with the hope of solving it, like we're given this complex object and told to disassemble it and figure out how to make it work to the best of its ability. It's just so intriguing to me. Look how far we've pushed the limits of the human lifespan already, look how we can cure things that centuries ago were uncurable. It's amazing.

I agree though on the lifespan its a but different

 

medical technology prevents many premature deaths now from health complications we can manage and in some cases cure. These premature deaths brought down the average life-expectancy

 

As a result old age is now the biggest killer whereas as in the past fewer people died from that as something else would kill them sooner

 

but for people who do die of old age... that hasnt changed much.... people 100 years ago lived to their 90s too there were just fewer if them

 

life expectancy has also stalled last 15-20 years. In part due to in part because most premature deaths are now prevented. So it cant go much higher now unless we actually find a way to slow aging itself

[Economy 52,842]

1 hour ago, theARTVampire said:

That's great!! but the thing is......it would cause a huge money loss on the medicine/hospital market....chemo therapy and radiation are profit sources....

 

1 hour ago, TimisaMonster said:

This...the "system" would crumble if a cure existed.

It would be SIGNIFICANTLY expensive to attain, so only the elite would be able to cure themselves whereas the poor would still need to go through chemo and radiation and HOPE they can fight it and survive

Ermm but many countries have free hethcare where theyd actually be better off not to without treatment

 

industries die and become outdated all the time big woop. I dont remembered closed Libraries and blockbusters collapsing economy

[Economy 52,842]

50 minutes ago, Edonis said:

It really wouldn’t though, and this logic (that stems from another idea that any one disease or drug is being withheld intentionally so that the industry and can profit from it) is completely untrue. 

Cancer treatments are determined by the intrinsic nature of the tumor. Not all therapies are universal even in the case of this potential alternative. Because of that, the need for multiple therapy options will always be in play. Certain cancers will not respond to radiation, or chemo, or even targeted gene therapies. The industry of science and medicine isn’t depended wholeheartedly on one treatment option. That’s also not taking into account that many chemo drugs are used in treating diseases other than cancer as well as radiation therapy. It’s way more complex than just assuming that the market will collapse from faster and more effective cures 

And let’s say in the event that a cure for cancer is found. Well? Doctors will still be required to administer treatments. Researchers will still have to elucidate the machinery of cancer. You’d be surprised how very little we actually know about Science and Biology. My professor said something along the lines of “For every one discovery, there are two more mysteries right behind it”. And it’s true. Once you learn about something, or discover a treatment, you inadvertently raise even more questions and even more possibilities. 

Thankyou for spilling so much tea! Ive tried to explain the multiple reasons in the past why treatments simply being witheald in a mass conspiracy is not as simple and useful as it sounds

 

not saying it hasnt happened for any treatment but some act like everything is a conspiracy

[Edonis 28,974]

Just now, Economy said:

Thankyou for spilling so much tea! Ive tried to explain the multiple reasons in the past why treatments simply being witheald in a mass conspiracy is not as simple and useful as it sounds

 

not saying it hasnt happened for any treatment but some act like everything is a conspiracy

Yeah, especially since researchers and the medical community can develop patents for these discoveries  it’s alot easier to make money that way than withholding precious and important research data for decades

[Economy 52,842]

1 minute ago, Edonis said:

Yeah, especially since researchers and the medical community can develop patents for these discoveries  it’s alot easier to make money that way than withholding precious and important research data for decades

Also ppl bring in the government on this

 

Healthcare is the biggest expense for most developed economies. It makes no sense for Governments to have people being ill causing medical expenses, not paying much taxes, possibly collecting disability in some cases just to save a few jobs

 

the government can create a lot more jobs in less costly ways  

[Goosey 3,017]

I think I'll need this in the future  approximately 39.6% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes.