New Drug Is 'Holy Grail' In Cancer Fight

British scientists say they are close to developing what they are calling the "Holy Grail" of cancer treatment.

The revolutionary new drug, which could cure some forms of cancer in some patients, uses their own genetic flaws to attack the disease.

For people whose genes make them more likely to get cancer it could be life-saving.

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But with Olaparib, scientists in Britain have found a way of exploiting a fault inherent in BRCA mutation cancer cells to destroy them.

"By giving this drug we have made what has been an advantage to the cell in fact an achilles heel," said Dr Johann de Bono, of the ICR.

"This is really the holy grail of cancer treatment - selectively killing cancer cells and sparing normal cells."

Traditional cancer treatments, like chemotherapy, kill both healthy and cancerous cells.

They destroy more of the cancer cells because they grow faster, but produce terrible side effects like hair loss, nausea and fatigue.

In contrast, Olaparib leaves healthy cells untouched. It is highly potent with only mild side effects.

In the first clinical trial nearly two thirds of patients with the BRCA mutation responded to the drug.

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Cai said:

I hate cancer. Here's hoping this is beyond successful.

Thanks for posting this.

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Kandahar said:

This is excellent news. With treatments like this as well as my personal favorite, the Kanzius Machine, I am optimistic that cancer can be largely eliminated within the next 20-25 years.

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Oftencold said:

I've probably seen thirty similar stories since high school. I never get excited over them. Some of the drugs turn out to have some use, some are never heard of again.

Part of the problem is that cancer is a very broad class of diseases, not one thing.

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