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Are we winning the war on cancer

By Setareh Motezamen, Annete Sonnenburg, Greg Garner, Wyatt Shosted, Jarred Taylor, Donny Harding, Sean Neilson. Are we winning the war on cancer. Cancer Facts.

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Are we winning the war on cancer

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  1. By Setareh Motezamen, Annete Sonnenburg, Greg Garner, Wyatt Shosted, Jarred Taylor, Donny Harding, Sean Neilson Are we winning the war on cancer

  2. Cancer Facts As of Late, cancer has become one of the leading causes of death in the United States. It is second only to Heart diseases. According to studies done in 2006, cancer was responsible for 559,888 deaths in the U.S. alone. It was 23.1 percent of all deaths in the U.S., and it is above Influenza, Pneumonia, accidents, and Cerebrovascular disease. It is obvious that we are not wining the war on cancer.

  3. MethodologicalIssues Detection bias #1 • Discovers a malignant tumor early And Starts therapy immediately /even if Therapy is unsuccessful. This will appear that the patient will live longer. Than a second patient With an (identical tumor) diagnosed At a later stage Will not appear to live as long as patient #1 • Usually found with smaller tumors Especially in the Breast and Prostate Otherwise would not harm the patient if left untreated But Can lead to unnecessary surgery and sometimes mutilating therapies Detection bias #2

  4. Diagnose Response Common Therapy for Cancer • Partial Response • Complete Response –No • Median Survival –The length • Surgery – Any surgery is dangerous; combined with unqualified surgeons, mistakes, complications. • Chemotherapy – Nonspecific; killing sensitive, normal cells especially in the intestine and bone marrow. • Radiation – Nonspecific; killing sensitive, normal cells especially in the intestine and bone marrow. • All The Above – With no guarantee cure, Usually life changing, associated with a decrease in the quality of life.

  5. War on CancerAre we winning? • Pharmaceutical companies –Are in it to make money even stating a genuine concern for cancer cures, the bottom line is where the real concern, finds its truth. • Doctors/Specialists –Necessary for the industry but mostly driven by the Pharmaceutical and Insurance companies • Therapy –With early detection some therapy is acceptable, however Insurance companies and government need to place policies, making this available and affordable to everyone. Including early treatment facilities, diagnostic testing, palliative care, non evasive treatment.

  6. Publication Bias Nearly one-third of cancer studies had financial conflicts of interest • Pharmaceutical Industry Positive studies (especially those funded by pharmaceutical companies) Tend to be published while Negative studies do not Figure 1. Percentage of published studies that reported positive results. Open bars, no pharmaceutical industry involvement; hatched bars, pharmaceutical industry involvement; solid bars, pharmaceutical industry authorship.

  7. Cancer Therapy Criteria for Utility of Cancer Therapy (Fojo and Grady 2009, J. Nat’l Cancer Inst.) • Meaningful prolongation of life or cure (mortality) • Improvement of quality of life (symptoms) • Value of treatment (compared to cost)

  8. Treatments • Surgical removalof the tumor and cure (preferred) • Requires complete removal • Early detection • Chemotherapy (Chemical/Medication) & Radiation Therapy • Mild to devastating or even fatal side effects • Some metastatic cancers cured; very small percentage • Few are turned into chronic diseases that require daily treatment

  9. Factors • Early detection and diagnosis • Benefits of screenings • Examples (Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer) • Cost-benefit analysis results must be reasonable • Some treatments used exclusively to counter symptoms from the disease • Cost prohibitive for potential outcome?

  10. Smart Drugs

  11. why has the war on Cancer failed • Since President Nixon declared the war on cancer in 1975, more people are diagnosed with cancer every year and more people are dying than ever before. The percentage of people dying has remained constant since the war on cancer began. Most treatments (except surgery) are nonspecific cell killers and not smart. The complex biological processes that form this disease make finding a cure a difficult challenge.

  12. What should we do now • 1. Prevention (cancer prevented) • a: Stop smoking (lung; other) • b: Minimize hormone replacement therapy (breast) • c: Vaccines • 1) Hepatitis B (liver) • 2) Papilloma virus (cervical, anal, penis) • d: Eliminate Helicobacter with antibiotics (stomach) • e: Prevent contracting AIDS (sarcoma) • f: Chemoprophylaxis • 3) finasteride (prostate) • 4) tamoxifen (high risk breast) • g: Decrease alcohol (liver, esophagus) • h: Decrease obesity (many types) • 2. Screening for • a. Cervical cancer • b. Colorectal cancer • c. Breast cancer • 3. More knowledge of cancers' causes and better animal models • 4. Better drugs-once appropriate targets identified

  13. References • http://www.ehow.com/about_5656786_cancer-hard-treat-cure_.html#ixzz2YCL95Vk7 • http://www.ehow.com/about_5656786_cancer-hard-treat-cure_.html#ixzz2YCObcgAh • Rethinking the War on Cancer, Bailar, John, Issues in Science and Technology, National Academy of Science. http://www.issues.org/19.4/updated/bailar.html Accessed 7.31.08

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