Borrowed Immune Cells to Fight Cancer

It is an unfortunate fact of life that many promising avenues of medical research languish partially developed and unfunded. It isn't unusual to see potentially transformative medical technologies linger with little further progress for a decade or more after their first triumphant discovery. The innovative antiviral DRACO technology is one such, offering the potential of therapies for persistent infections that cannot currently be treated. Another is the use of immune cell transplants to attack cancer, presented in its initial form of granulocyte infusion therapy (GIFT) with accompanying compelling animal data at the third SENS conference in 2007, but under development for years prior to that point. Where is this approach to cancer treatment today, nearly a decade down the line? Little advanced beyond that point, I'm sorry to say. In fact so little progress has occurred and so little attention has been given to this style of cancer treatment that other researchers are now and then independently finding their way to the same place from different directions, as noted in the paper and publicity materials that are linked below. Why does this waste of potential continue to happen over and again in the field of medical research and development? One challenge is that a life in the fairly rigid hierarchy of the sciences is typically poor preparation for the cut and thrust of bringing a new technology into the marketplace, raising funding outside the established channels of gr...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs