Guest Post: The Illusive Cure for Cancer...

Happy Easter! For this weeks post I’ve asked my friend and PhD student, to discuss his perspectives  on ‘the cure for cancer’. I’d like my blog to feature more guest posts in the future, and be an area for discussion open to all walks of scientific PhD life! If you would like to work with me on a future guest post, feel free to contact me!

Hey guys, my name is Rhys. I’m a 2^nd year PhD student researching cancer and chemotherapy. I have very kindly been offered the opportunity to write about something that both frustrates and fascinates me: the elusive single cure for cancer, and the “alternative therapies”, misinformation, and conspiracy theories that come with it.

To begin, let’s quickly recap what cancer is, and why at present there is no single cure. Cancer is the result of mistakes (mutations) in the instructions that tell your cells what to do, called DNA. In cancer, these mutations occur in the genes that tell the cell when to divide or when to die. These mutated cells grow much faster than healthy cells, and eventually form tumours, which can then spread from its site of origin into other parts of the body.

Finding the Cure is Complex!

Here’s the first reason why finding a “cure” for cancer is so complex: there are hundreds of different types of cells in the body, and therefore hundreds (over 200!) different types of cancer. So we’re not looking at a cure for one disease, but rather hundreds of different diseases, each of which has its own characteristic aggressiveness, response to treatment, survival rate, etc. On top of that, 2 people could have the exactly the same type of cancer and still respond differently to treatment because of subtle genetic differences. That’s the true nature of the beast; cancer arises because of how our DNA replicates and how our cells try to repair these mistakes. This same error prone mechanism is what gives us the genetic flexibility to adapt and evolve. Unfortunately, cancer is part of our nature.

Conspiracy Theories

Collectively, cancer is one of the world’s biggest killers. It’s not all doom and gloom however; cancer mortality is steadily decreasing, due to our increasing knowledge and the improving techniques for cancer detection. But, because it’s such an emotive and cruel disease, it has attracted some interesting theories and “alternative therapies” over the years.

First off, and this is one I see quite often shared on my Facebook feed, is the idea that big pharma (GSK, AstraZeneca, and the company everyone loves to hate: Monsanto, who don’t undertake any biomedical research), professional organisations such as the AMA, and the Government, already know the cure for cancer, and are hiding it from us to maintain profits and line their pockets. Straight away, as we discussed above, we know that you can’t have a single “magic bullet” cure for cancer. Second of all, a “cure” for all cancers would literally be the most lucrative drug in history. Lastly, I would like to think that amongst the thousands of hardworking cancer researchers and staff; at least a couple would have the conscience to speak up.

The Alternative Therapy Movement

The sort of claims these groups make are, in my opinion, more dangerous than the conspiracy theorists, as they combine scientific-looking statements and an appeal to the desperation of patients for whom conventional cancer therapy has failed. Many believe that natural products (marijuana and baking soda are two popular examples) are perfectly capable of replacing conventional chemotherapy, which is “barbaric” and applied by “sadistic” mainstream (read: qualified) physicians. Very briefly, “conventional” chemotherapy works by targeting and killing (through a variety of methods) cancer cells that are replicating very quickly. Unfortunately, some types of healthy cells, such as those found in hair roots or in the lining of your stomach, also divide quickly, which is why chemotherapy often comes with a lot of unpleasant side effects.

Many people believe that this is not necessary, and through some pretty fundamental misunderstandings, develop some outlandish alternative therapies. The most recent example that comes to mind is the sad case of Naima Houder-Mohammed and the Robert O Young's alkali diet. Mr Young, who has published several books on the subject, was under the impression that cancer is caused by the transformation of cells into bacteria in acidic conditions.  He reasoned a cure could be achieved by reversing these acidic conditions with repeated perfusions of alkaline solutions – baking powder.  Mr Young’s theories are pretty unconventional even amongst other alternative therapists, and unfortunately Naima died aged 27, by which point she and her family had spent more than £60,000 on Mr Young’s “Miracle pH Ranch” in California. In 2014, Young was arrested and faces a maximum of 3 years in prison. Shaky science aside, the tragic thing about these cases is that there are people out there, like Mr Young, who are preying on the desperation and confusion of scared, dying patients.

This isn’t to say that natural products should be avoided, nor that they are completely ineffective. Many natural products do in fact possess anti-carcinogenic properties, and may have a place in enhancing conventional chemotherapies (this is actually what my research looks at!). Alone however, they cannot destroy cancer.

I hope this brings some awareness to what can happen when there’s a failure to communicate the complexity of cancer, and science in general, to the public. We as scientists, in this age where the spread of misinformation is rife and rapid, face new challenges and a responsibility to effectively communicate what we do and why we do it. Luckily, Fresh Science is doing a great job so far. 

Thanks for reading, and keep checking back!