A new cancer vaccine for dogs nearly doubles their survival rates for certain kinds of cancer. This is significant, because similar vaccines might be developed for humans in the future, and cancer is fairly common in dogs, especially older and bigger dogs:
For the new study, scientists at Yale adapted existing human cancer treatments to find a new version that could benefit both humans and dogs, since some cancers share properties between species. Monoclonal antibodies are an emerging treatment where patients receive infusions of proteins that bind to EGFR and HER2, two proteins that are overexpressed in several cancers like colorectal or breast cancer.
The problem is, patients often develop resistance to these antibodies, reducing the treatment’s effectiveness over time. To overcome that, the new study instead set out to create polyclonal antibodies – those that are made from multiple immune cells, and which bind to several parts of EGFR/HER2.
After identifying a compound that did just that, the researchers tested it in mice and then dogs. It proved so successful that multiple clinical trials have been conducted in the past eight years, involving over 300 dogs, with the treatment binding to tumors and messing with the pathways that let it grow.
The researchers say that their canine cancer vaccine has almost doubled the 12-month survival rate for dogs with some types of cancer. For example, dogs with osteosarcoma have a 35% chance of living for one year after diagnosis when treated with chemotherapy and other conventional treatments, but the cancer vaccine boosted that to 60%.
A child recently was cured of a type of brain cancer that previously always killed kids who had it.
Scientists have developed tiny robots made of human cells to repair damaged cells. Nanorobots are also being used to fight cancer: “In a major advancement in nanomedicine, Arizona State University scientists…have successfully programmed nanorobots to shrink tumors by cutting off their blood supply.”
“Surgeons and scientists have developed a world-first blood test for brain cancer that experts say could revolutionize diagnosis, speed up treatment and boost survival rates.” Despite advances in fighting other kinds of cancer, “brain tumors have remained notoriously difficult to diagnose. They affect hundreds of thousands of people worldwide each year, and kill more children and adults under the age of 40 … than any other cancer.
Robots may also help remove brain cancers. Robots can fit in small spaces in people’s bodies that a surgeon can’t reach without cutting through living tissue.
Doctors overseas are using artificial intelligence to detect cases of breast cancer more effectively. Artificial intelligence is now developing highly-effective antibodies to fight disease.
Doctors recently used a surgical robot to carry out incredibly complicated spinal surgery. Doctors also recently did the first robotic liver transplant in America.
