Cancer Treatment Draws Flood of Calls
WASHINGTON — News of a promising new cancer treatment at the National Cancer Institute prompted a flood of calls to the federal center Thursday from people desperate for a cure.
“What they’re saying is, our mother, our brother, our sister is dying at this very moment. We have nothing to lose. We want to be a candidate,” said Carol Case, the institute’s chief spokesman.
“Our 800 (telephone) numbers are jammed this morning,” said Paul Van Nevel, the institute’s associate director for communications.
The callers want information about a new treatment, called adoptive immunotherapy, that turns ordinary white blood cells into “killer cells” that attack malignant tumors. The treatment was announced in an article in Thursday’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
In 11 of 25 patients with advanced cancer, doctors were able to shrink tumors by at least 50% and, in one case, apparently eradicated the disease.
Officials cautioned that the treatment is still highly experimental, carries toxic side effects and is also very expensive. It is available only at the cancer institute in Bethesda, Md.
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