A “war” that we actually are winning
It was almost 55 years ago — on December 23, 1971, to be precise — that President Richard M.Nixon officially declared the “war on cancer” when he signed the National Cancer Act of 1971.
The legislation committed $1.5 billion ($12 billion in today’s dollars) over three years to expand the capabilities of the National Cancer Institute and create new research centers to find cures and treatments for cancer.
At the time, Nixon stated he hoped the bill would be looked upon in the future as the most significant action of his presidency, comparing it to the ambition of the moon landing. Since 1971, the federal government has spent an estimated $200 billion to $300 billion in research, while total national expenditures on overall cancer care and medical treatment have reached trillions of dollars.
Early detection, better treatments, and a massive decline in smoking successfully have reduced cancer deaths. Still, despite these efforts, an estimated 30 million Americans have died of the dreaded disease over the past 55 years. In short, though we have made much progress since 1971, we still had far to go.
That is, until last week.
The joint announcement by pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck heralds a new era in oncology. They revealed that Moderna’s targeted mRNA cancer vaccine, when combined with Merck’s immunotherapy drug Keytruda, significantly slowed the recurrence of deadly melanoma and prevented its spread to other parts of the body.
Just as each of us has unique fingerprints, cancers are entirely different in everyone. Even two people with the exact same diagnosis can have completely different genetic mutations, tumor behaviors, and treatment responses. That is why a drug like Keytruda is highly-effective for many patients, but not for others.
Moderna’s mRNA drug changes the game by designing a treatment specific to every patient’s unique version of the cancer. A small sample of the cancer is extracted from the patient so its DNA can be genetically sequenced. Moderna then tailors a custom mRNA drug designed to train the patient’s own immune system — specifically their “killer” T-cells — to recognize and aggressively attack those specific cancer cells.
This breakthrough technology is critical in two major respects. Obviously, it will be of enormous benefit to Americans who presently have been diagnosed with cancer. But its impact also will be crucial in treating the many early-onset cancers that inexplicably are on the rise among younger people.
Colorectal cancer is seeing one of the sharpest and most alarming increases among young adults under 50, rapidly becoming a leading cause of cancer death in this age group. Doctors are also seeing noticeable increases in several other early-onset cancers among Gen Xers and Millennials, including triple-negative breast, thyroid, kidney, pancreatic, uterine, and stomach cancers.
For these generations, personalized mRNA technology could completely rewrite their prognosis.
In a world where it seems the news is all bad all the time, the announcement of Moderna’s breakthrough cancer therapy offers a rare, profound sense of hope. We may finally be turning the tide in a half-century-long war, bringing us closer than ever to a cure for this dreaded disease.
School’s back — drive with care
With schools going back into session, morning rush-hour commuters need to readjust our driving habits to ensure that we take into account the thousands of children who will be filling our streets during our morning commute.
We’ll be the first to admit that school buses, school crossings, etc. are a pain in the neck, especially if we’re running a bit late on our way to work.
But that is no excuse for ANY sort of driving behavior that does not take into account the safety of the children in our communities.
Every morning commuter needs to be a patient, alert, and defensive driver, especially in the first few weeks of school, when children are walking and biking to school to take advantage of the early fall weather.
Each of us is responsible not only for our own safety, but also for the safety of others when we are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle — and that is doubly true when school is back in session.