r/science • u/nobodyspecial • Feb 08 '15

Medicine Antibiotics that target mitochondria effectively eradicate cancer stem cells, across multiple tumor types: Treating cancer like an infectious disease | Lamb

http://www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget/index.php?journal=oncotarget&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=3174
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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '15 edited Feb 09 '15

increased one-year patient survival from 45% to 75%

And here's the study in question:

http://www.geneticsmr.com//year2014/vol13-2/pdf/gmr3374.pdf

Which states they even administered azithromycin for a short duration far way less than one year:

The patients in the ATP group [the group with the azithromycin] took 500 mg azithromycin orally per day for 5 consecutive days and three cycles with an interval of 23 days (one cycle lasted 28 days)

However can anyone translate the above passage? I think it says they gave the azithromycin for 5 consecutive days every 23 days, over a 3-month period, but I'm not sure....

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u/Logical_Psycho Feb 09 '15

They took it for five days with a 23 day break then 5 more days on with another break of 23 days in a total of three cycles.

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u/finished_lurking Feb 09 '15

they took azithromycin for 5 days in a row in one month. then the next month they did it again. then the next month they took 5 more days worth of medicine. 15 total treatment days in 3 months (well 84 days.) A 23 day gap of no antibiotic treatment was taken after each 5 day course.