Fact
Scientists from the University of Antwerp are developing a new treatment against pancreatic cancer and advanced colon cancer. The researchers hope that their new immunotherapy can be used in patients in 5 years, as reported in various media.
Check
Scientists from the University of Antwerp found a method to penetrate the shield that is present around the cells of colon and pancreatic cancer. The major difficulty with these cancers is to get treatment through the hard immune shield that surrounds the tumor cells. The researchers discovered a weak spot in that shield, namely the CD70 protein. If you can break through that, the path to treatment is open. The goal now will be to produce immune cells that attack that specific protein, allowing a treatment to penetrate the tumor. The same CD70 protein is also found on the cancer cells themselves, which can therefore be tackled by the same immune cells. It is undoubtedly an important step in scientific research, but unfortunately the road to an effective treatment for these cancers is still long. This involves laboratory research. Most research that shows promise in laboratories never reaches the stage of effective cancer therapy for patients, because several obstacles still need to be overcome. For example, once a therapy has been developed, it must be investigated whether it is well tolerated. Suggesting that in five years there would be a treatment for patients with advanced colon or pancreatic cancer is premature and may give false hope to patients.
Conclusion: not proven
Never say never, but the path from a successful discovery in a scientific laboratory to the development of a safe and effective cancer drug usually takes a decade or more. Numerous obstacles still have to be overcome along the way, so it is not even certain whether the intended therapy will actually be achieved. News of a major breakthrough is premature.