<story><title>Immunotherapy cancer drug hailed as &apos;game changer&apos;</title><url>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37588541</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>randcraw</author><text>If you have cancer, as I may still do (after prostate surgery), PD-1 and PD-L1 immunotherapy simply is NOT a game changer.  On average, you live another 6 months, but only if you pass a screening to get the treatment, which most patients fail.  So in practice, even with these drugs, the outcome of getting cancer is significant only in a statistical sense.  Hardly a breakthrough.&lt;p&gt;I also happen to work for one of the two pharmas making these drugs, and it PISSES ME OFF no end how much overpromotion this advancement is getting.  Fact is, if you have cancer, you&amp;#x27;re still going to die, at best a year later than if you were on chemo.  So the lucky few who pass immuno-screening and then get these drugs will benefit mostly by avoiding chemo, not by living significantly longer, much less getting cured.&lt;p&gt;Added to its modest actual outcome, the COST of this treatment is insane - profiteering of the worst kind.  Charging a dying person $80,000 for an extra 3-6 months of life while promoting the drug as a &amp;#x27;breakthrough&amp;#x27; is just plain wrong.  It&amp;#x27;s a violation of the Hippocratic oath.  And it&amp;#x27;s caused me to lose the little bit of my remaining faith in the value of working in this industry.&lt;p&gt;&amp;#x27;As good as it gets&amp;#x27; is a pitiful rallying cry when battling cancer, IMHO.</text></comment>
<story><title>Immunotherapy cancer drug hailed as &apos;game changer&apos;</title><url>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37588541</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>refurb</author><text>To some folks this may not seem like much of a benefit, but these improvements add up over time.  I could only find this example, but in the last 40 years, the 5-year survival rate for breast cancer patients has gone from ~75% to 92%.  All of that benefit was recognized at once, but rather incremental benefits added up over time.&lt;p&gt;I wish I could have the table I saw for colorectal cancer.  Really amazing.  We&amp;#x27;re talking average overall survival going from 6 months to 5 years in the span of a few decades.  This isn&amp;#x27;t the one I was thinking of, but it&amp;#x27;s a great example.[1]&lt;p&gt;[1]&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.bowelcanceraustralia.org&amp;#x2F;images&amp;#x2F;Bowel_Cancer_Australia_Advocacy_Therapeutic_Progress_660.jpg&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.bowelcanceraustralia.org&amp;#x2F;images&amp;#x2F;Bowel_Cancer_Aus...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>