A cure for cancer in one year only? Do not believe the hype

Last week, an Israeli biotech company said it would have the cure for cancer a year from now, sparking a media frenzy in which groups like The New York Post, NBC and US News appeared to have accepted their claims without question. The only problem is that there is little or no evidence to support their claims, reports Forbes.

The so-called "cure" created by Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies LtD, a company founded in 2000 by the Israeli technology incubator ITEK Weizmann, said "attack receptors three at a time", which would make their treatment supposedly faster than a cancer could mutate, according to the first press release published about their emergence. research.

However, scientists from the world of research, including the American Cancer Society, have quickly pointed out that it was absolutely wrong: Cancers can have tens of thousands of DNA mutations in their genome, many of which are the "receptors" to which researchers vaguely refer in their press release on the study.

In addition, the Israeli society also claimed that their treatment would be effective for all types of cancer. For oncologists, it is an immediate warning signal: we know more than 200 types of cancers and it would be extremely unlikely or impossible, from a medical point of view. treat all types of cancer.

Thirdly, research has so far only been conducted on mice, which means that it has not yet been tested on other animal species, has been formulated and approved for administration to the man in phase 1 clinical trials. It would certainly take more than a year for any cancer research company, thus canceling the second part of the company claim.

As a research scientist on cancer, Dr. Darren Saunders put it on Twitter"It's essentially the Fyre Cancer Remedies Festival. I can find very little published data and the in vitro data on their website is at best disappointing. "

Critics also claim that hearing about new "cancer cures", with little or no evidence, could be extremely detrimental and dangerous for the hundreds of thousands of doctors and researchers who are working to create better treatments against cancer. In a field full of unproven and artificial remedies, it is irresponsible for both biotech companies and mainstream media to disseminate them.