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11/12/19
13:39
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Originally posted by Al.:
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There’s 80k + eyes on these threads thought I would share an analogy for small molecule cancer therapies - imagine the human body is like a house. Cancer is A hostile army / predator that seeks to enter and destroy the house. Small molecules act by closing down the entry points for the enemy. They cannot destroy the enemy alone - chemotherapy in this case is like the police / machine gun that comes into play to destroy the approaching army. The small molecules close the doors and windows (either by stopping cell division, proliferation other survival pathways or by activating or highlighting the cancer cells for the immune system.) Each persons body could be likened to a different house design eg some are apartments / some are duplexes, some have skylights, backdoors ect. In medical speak these would be referred to as ‘markers’ or biology specific to person DNA, epigenetic expression or specific type of cancer. In AML particularly it is a nasty predator with an arsenal of weapons. The NCCN (National cancer care network) sets our therapies which universally include very strong and powerful chemo therapies (Police). Think of the cancer like a shape shifter, they adapt so that the chemo eventually becomes ineffective. In AML the survival rates for 5 years are between 20-30% - so while 60-70% of cancers will completely respond to the initial chemo this can last for 6-12 months. 70- 80% of sufferers needs extra ammo / better fortress protection from this enemy. This is where small molecules have proven their value - they give chemo another lease of life by pausing the shape shifting abilities of the cancer and strengthening the ability of the chemo to be effective again. Small molecules for relapsed / refractory (where the shape shifting cancer has outgunned the frontline chemo) are available in a number of approved medicines but these are almost universally restricted to 25/30% cohort of sufferers with specific mutations or bio markers. In virtually all small molecules approvals the Complete response rates have not exceeded 20%. Another key figure is the PFS which means how long does the addition of the small molecule enhance the effectiveness of the chemo and how tolerable is it. ‘’when looking at small molecule results holders and investors must bear in mind that this is never and was never going to be a single medicine to replace chemo which is unheard of in this indication (with the exception of de novo ages above 75 or other health conditions where chemo is not an option). Small molecules can be likened to a door closing / shape shift pausing salvage therapy which most usually applies to the 70 - 80% of sufferers who need extra ammo when chemo fails between 6-60 months from diagnosis. When I first started researching I wasn’t aware of the demarcation between frontline and small molecule therapy and the value of the latter DYOR
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your exactly right , chemo is front line attack but a multi pronged attack is where good results are seen , I’m currently on a 18 month stint of chemo and take rso high potency thc oil , I’ve stopped taking it twice over that 18 months and both times my tumour markers have started to increase , I’m super excited to see how this car t treatment develops , crispr is another exciting field for cancer treatment