• fiat_lux@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    69
    ·
    2 years ago

    While I wish this research well, very well in fact…

    In 8 of 16 patients studied, the vaccines activated T cells that recognize the patient’s own pancreatic cancers. These patients also showed delayed recurrence of their pancreatic cancers, suggesting the T cells activated by the vaccines may be having the desired effect to keep pancreatic cancers in check.

    This is a far cry from “stops pancreatic cancer”. An article about research science by the research scientist leading it is a call for funding. It is very probably a good thing to fund. But misleading headlines set society up for disappointment when the science doesn’t deliver on the headline claims. This weakens public trust in science. A huge part of this problem is the need for science to beg for grants and funding in the first place.

    • Hardeehar@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      23
      ·
      2 years ago

      Going to lose a family friend to pancreatic cancer in a few months. The life expectancy after symptoms is like 6months. It’s brutally fast.

      The problem is the speed. This research might not “stop” this form of cancer, but if it opens up roads to makes it more detectable? So we can get to it earlier to treat it or manage it. I’ll take that.

      Maybe we can move that number from 6 months life expectancy to something that would give some more time. Maybe we could stop it all together. Whatever it is, all information is useful in the fight. I just hope we get some mileage out of this soon before it takes more loved ones.

      • fiat_lux@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 years ago

        I wish you both well, I know it must be very hard, and I really do hope this and other research helps everyone suffering sooner rather than later. I’ll take whatever progress we can get too. I just don’t like the idea of overly bold claims promising too much, when there may be other good leads to follow which go unnoticed as a result.

    • Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      2 years ago

      I also hope this research pans out, but holy crap am I sick of the state of science reporting. For at least the last like 25 years everyone seems to just find a study (any study) with some tenuously promising result under some very specific conditions, and then they write a big ol’ science fiction story about how it’s going to save humanity. Just zero rigor. And about half the time when I’m able to track down the actual study the story is based on, what the study says and what the article says it says aren’t just a little different, often it’s night and day.

      At this point I think I’d even treat a headline like, “new research concludes that water can make things wet,” with skepticism.

  • cybervseas@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    2 years ago

    I don’t know how excited we could be when 8 out of 16 folks had a good response. On the one hand n is so so small. On the other hand, pancreatic cancer is almost impossible to treat!

  • febra@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    2 years ago

    Can’t wait for all the vaccine conspiracy theorists to go out of their way to get pancreatic cancer just to “own the jab”

  • Backspacecentury@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    2 years ago

    Seeing as they are specifically tailored to each person and they work to treat those that already have pancreatic cancer… is vaccine the correct term?

    Is it a vaccine because it induces a response within the patient that then kills the cancer, whereas something that would be considered a treatment would directly destroy the cancer like anti-biotics do to bacterial infections?

  • let_me_lemmy@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    2 years ago

    A friend’s mom passed away by pancreatic cancer. It was so quick (a few months) and absolutely brutal from what I heard. Hopefully this leads to some good development for a treatment!