Re: " new reactor will make certain Australia remains at the forefront of cancer treatments "

[John Jacobus <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>]

The usefulness of BCNT for all but a limited number or

cancers has to still be established.  There are two

things to remember. 



(1) Cost verses benefit is always a factor.  If

cancers can be treated with known, accepted protocols

involving surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or some

combination, the physicians will use them.  The

introduction of new modalities in treatment have to

prove a significant benefit, as the PRIMARY goal of

medicine is to improve the quality of patients' lives,

not push forward research. Another consideration is

that the some of the reported treatments involve only

specific, rare cancers.  The main cancer types remain

lung, prostate, breast and colon-rectal.  Improved

treatments of these cancers will provide the most good

for the most people.  Developing treatment for a rare

pancreatic cancer that only affects 1% of patients may

increase our understanding of cancer treatment, but

will do little for the vast majority with "common"

cancers.



(2) Just because a medical treatment makes a

"breakthough" does not really mean it does.  Companies

and institutions have a motive in reporting their

findings.  In the early-1980s, a number of medical

research centers were buying accelerators for fast

neutron therapy treatment.  Except for the Trevatron

(I love that name), I do not think any are still doing

that type of therapy in a clinical setting.  All work

with fast neutrons remain a research. See 

http://www.radonc.uchicago.edu/lionel/linktest.html. 

That being said, there is ongoing work in proton

therapy in both the Loma Linda, CA, and the

Massachusetts General Hospital which has shown great

promise in heavy ion therapy.  Does Austrailian or

Canada have proton treatment facilities?



--- "Franta, Jaroslav" <frantaj@AECL.CA> wrote:

> > I thought it interesting how "cancer treatment"

> leads the way in public

> > relations campaigns like the article below, but

> when it actually comes

> > down to "remaining at the forefront" of medicine,

> ANSTO balked at

> > including a BNCT facility at the new Lucas Heights

> reactor in Sydney,

> > leaving Australia's group of BNCT researchers high

> & dry.

> > Regrettably, this hypocritical approach is also

> taken in Canada's proposal

> > for the new CNF reactor.

> > One bit of good news in all this is that at least

> the Koreans modified the

> > HANARO Maple reactor which Canada built for them,

> to include a BNCT

> > facility.

> > Guess who's going to "remain at the forefront" of

> medicine.

> > 

> > Jaro 

> > http://www.cns-snc.ca/branches/quebec/quebec.html

> > 

> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> > 

> > 

> > 2004 February 17

> > New Executive Director of Australia's ANSTO Named 

> > Dr Ian Smith has been appointed executive director

> of the Australian

> > Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

> (ANSTO), Australian science

> > minister Peter McGauran announced yesterday.

> > 

> > Mr McGauran said: "I warmly welcome Dr Ian Smith,

> whose science,

> > innovation and business background combined with

> experience in

> > commercialising scientific research will be of

> enormous value to ANSTO."

> > 

> > The Australian-born Dr Smith has been the deputy

> vice-chancellor

> > (Research, Enterprise and International) at the

> University of Otago, New

> > Zealand, since 1995. Among other roles, Dr Smith

> has previously held

> > senior management positions with the Comalco

> Research Centre and CRA

> > Advanced Technical Development. His 36 years in

> metallurgical engineering

> > include a long list of academic and research

> achievements. His early

> > research was conducted at the former Atomic Energy

> Commission; now ANSTO.

> > 

> > In announcing the appointment, minister McGauran

> said it is "an exciting

> > time" to work at ANSTO, Australia's only research

> organisation devoted to

> > nuclear science and technology. He said

> construction of a modern,

> > multipurpose nuclear research reactor at Lucas

> Heights in Sydney is well

> > underway - and is intended to benefit Australia in

> a variety of fields:

> > medicine, the environment, agriculture, industry,

> mining, science and

> > education. Mr McGauran said: "The new reactor will

> make certain Australia

> > remains at the forefront of cancer treatments as

> well as emerging

> > technologies."

> > 

> > Dr Smith replaces professor Helen Garnett, who

> headed ANSTO for nine years

> > until last October, when she left to become

> foundation vice-chancellor of

> > Charles Darwin University, in the country's

> Northern Territory.

> > 

> > Source: Australian ministry of science / ANSTO

> > Editor: Daniel MacIsaac

> >  

> 





=====

+++++++++++++++++++

"The care of human life and happiness . . . is the first and only legitimate object of good government."

Thomas Jefferson



-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com



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