# First the cure for cancer now the cure for any virus

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-cure-for-cancer-now-the-cure-for-any-virus/592510>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 12, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-cure-for-cancer-now-the-cure-for-any-virus/592510 "2011-08-12T21:22:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-cure-for-cancer-now-the-cure-for-any-virus/592510/1 "2011-08-12T21:22:02Z")

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First the cure for cancer ([A cure for cancer: could this be it? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=619897) with links in thread) now the cure for any virus  
[Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Therapeutics](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022572)

So how does this one look? Could we really have wiped out cancer and most virus infections within days of each other?

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-cure-for-cancer-now-the-cure-for-any-virus/592510/2 "2011-08-12T21:34:17Z")

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> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> First the cure for cancer ([http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=619897](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=619897) with links in thread) now the cure for any virus  
> [PLOS One](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%25...l.pone.0022572)
> 
> So how does this one look? Could we really have wiped out cancer and most virus infections within days of each other?

Your first link is not about “the cure for cancer”, but a promising therapy for one kind of leukemia that has so far been tested in just three patients.

Your second link is about an antiviral agent that is reported effective in the test tube and apparently has anti-H1N1 influenza activity in mice.

So no, we haven’t “wiped out” anything yet. I hear however that a drug reportedly 100% effective against reading incomprehension is nearing Phase I clinical trials.

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**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-cure-for-cancer-now-the-cure-for-any-virus/592510/3 "2011-08-12T21:35:18Z")

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> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> Could we really have wiped out cancer and most virus infections within days of each other?

You’re very, very, very, very, very far ahead of yourself. That leukemia therapy was tested on three people and this antiviral therapy has been tested on zero people. While immune therapies for cancer are promising (there are a couple of them now), it’s very unlikely that any one therapy can treat all the different types of cancer. There are tons of them.

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**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-cure-for-cancer-now-the-cure-for-any-virus/592510/4 "2011-08-12T21:36:50Z")

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I wouldn’t impugn **kanicbird** ’s reading comprehension as harshly as you do, **Jackmanii** … [He’s just following the university news office’s lead](http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/antiviral-0810.html).

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**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-cure-for-cancer-now-the-cure-for-any-virus/592510/5 "2011-08-12T21:48:50Z")

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Impressive, but draconian, it seems.

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**Author:** ![Bisected8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@Bisected8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bisected8)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-cure-for-cancer-now-the-cure-for-any-virus/592510/6 "2011-08-13T23:45:10Z")

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You can no more “cure cancer” than you can “invent alloy”.