Charles Wiseman
Briacell Therapeutics, USA
Title: Targeted Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer Immunotherapy - Fact, myths and experience: Mythbusters: How beautiful facts can falsify ugly theories
Biography
Biography: Charles Wiseman
Abstract
In the 70’s, there was great excitement about the promise of BCG to as a new approach to treating many cancers, breast cancer included. That idea didn’t prove true, as did many widely held concepts. We have come a long way in the past 50 years, and it should be helpful to pay some attention to the developments that led us to the current state. The recent positive results with the SV-BR1-GM targeted therapy stand in contrast to some of the previous ‘widely held concepts’; During the discussion, I will discuss objective findings that refute the following:
Breast cancer is not immunogenic
Targeted Immunotherapy is effective only if <10^6 cells
BCG can aid tumor regression and extend survival
Chemotherapy is immunosuppressive and would neutralize any immunotherapy benefit
The brain is a privileged site,
Responses to immunotherapy are very slow
Considering some of the past perspectives, with my discussion of the positive results of my own work and that of others, I will offer a few speculations and discuss some unsolved challenges to developing an effective therapy for breast cancer.