Scientists often test drugs on mice, but now some cancer patients are doing the same. They're payin
Like 0 Dislike 0 Published on 3 Aug 2015
VOICE-OVER:
(NATS)
"We're waiting for the tumor to get to the right size..."
(SUPER = Baltimore)
THIS WHITE MOUSE IN A BALTIMORE LAB IS HELPING GUIDE THE TREATMENT OF A CANCER PATIENT NEAR MIAMI.
PART OF EILEEN YOUTIE'S TUMOR IS GROWING IN THE SMALL RODENT.
(SUPER = Eileen Youtie, Breast cancer patient)
"You do what you gotta do, you know? You get scared."
(SUPER = Aventura, Florida)
YOUTIE HAS AN AGGRESSIVE, HARD-TO-TREAT TYPE OF BREAST CANCER AND IS PAYING A PRIVATE COMPANY, CHAMPIONS ONCOLOGY, TO IMPLANT HER BIOPSIED TUMOR TISSUE INTO MICE.
IT'S AN EFFORT TO REDUCE THE TRIAL AND ERROR AND WASTED TIME PATIENTS CAN EXPERIENCE IN THE SEARCH FOR AN EFFECTIVE DRUG.
(SUPER = Dr. Angela Davies, Chief Medical Officer, Champions Oncology)
"We implant tumor tissue into//a mouse that doesn't have an intact immune system so that we can grow that tumor and then test different drug therapies to be able to predict which drugs are going to work best in a patient."
A REVIEW OF 70 CANCER PATIENTS FOUND THAT 70-PERCENT OF THE TIME WHAT HAD WORKED IN THE MICE HAD ALSO WORKED IN PEOPLE... CONVERSELY, 96-PERCENT OF THE TIME WHAT DIDN'T WORK IN MICE, DIDN'T WORK IN PEOPLE EITHER.
(SUPER = Dr. Angela Davies, Chief Medical Officer, Champions Oncology)
"This is done taking into account many different factors, which truly allows a personalized approach for the patient."
BUT SOME CANCER EXPERTS WARN THE PROCESS IS HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL...
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THE MICE LEAD TO BETTER CANCER CARE THAN THAT BASED ON MEDICAL GUIDELINES OR GENE TESTS PATIENTS AND DOCTORS CAN USE TO PICK DRUGS.
THE MOUSE TESTING COSTS 10-THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE. INSURANCE WON'T COVER IT.
AND, PATIENTS MAY HAVE TO START OTHER THERAPIES WHILE WAITING SEVERAL MONTHS FOR MOUSE RESULTS.
(SUPER = Eileen Youtie, Breast cancer patient)
"We decided to go with a less toxic one because I was going to have one treatment before I got the results.//So we did that, we got the results, and the less toxic one worked equally to the more toxic one."
BUT SHE KNOWS...
(SUPER = Eileen Youtie, Breast cancer patient)
"There is no guarantee that if it works on the mice, it's going to work on me."
STILL, FOR NOW, YOUTIE SAYS HER CUSTOMIZED MICE ARE ONE OF HER BEST BETS AGAINST BREAST CANCER.
CINDY SHARP, ASSOCIATED PRESS.
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/8abd391e320702efd99ef63b2a2a3073
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork