Our “anecdote” is their “breakthrough”…

“Research published today in Nature Medicine by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has described a new immunotherapy approach, which led to a complete disappearance of tumours in a woman with advanced metastatic breast cancer  who only had months to live”, reported Victoria Forster (https://bit.ly/2INjYuk).

“T-cells extracted from a tumour, expanded and then re-introduced into the body have resulted in the disappearance of tumours in a woman with metastatic breast cancer”, said the caption.

Maybe these scientists are on to something. But this is a case report on a single patient. When we do this, it’s called an anecdote and dismissed. When “they” do it, it gets published in one of the world’s top scientific journals and makes media headlines.

This month sees publication of a new book containing the 25 cancer case studies Dr Nick Gonzalez presented to that same NCI. Not one, but 25 patients successfully cured despite hopeless diagnoses. Reaction: zero.

And… those cases were presented in 1993! All they triggered was a massive research fraud funded and set up by the very same NCI to discredit his work. So the timing of the latest “breakthrough” announcement from the NCI is ironic. Doubly so, given my extensive interview in this month’s issue, with Nick’s clinical partner Dr Linda Isaacs, MD.

SIMON MARTIN, EDITOR

Keep up with Simon on Twitter @simoncamedit