Revolution in cancer therapy?
More than 240,000 people die of cancer in Germany every year – making cancer the second most common cause of death in Germany.
Biontech is now raising great hopes: The Mainz-based pharmaceutical company can apparently show initial success in the treatment of cancer – and for almost all forms of cancer.
Progress in the development of a new cancer therapy
The first study results of a novel cancer therapy have now been presented. This is a combination of so-called CAR T cells and an mRNA vaccine.
The combination therapy called BNT211 was tested on 44 subjects. Some patients had early-stage cancer, others had advanced tumors.
The result: The growth of tumors was stopped in 74 percent of the patients, and in 45 percent the tumors even shrank. At the apparently most effective dosage, tumor growth was stopped in 95 percent of cases and the tumor became smaller in 59 percent. There have been no serious side effects so far. Only mild reactions such as fever and low blood pressure occurred.
Too early to celebrate?
BNT211 could be used against tumors that have a protein called claudin-6. These include ovarian cancer, sarcomas, testicular cancer, uterine cancer and stomach cancer.
But it is still too early to celebrate: The new therapy is only at the beginning of a long process that can – but does not have to – lead to approval. Despite initial study successes, cancer is far from being defeated.