Not the GP, but I'll bite. I'm skeptical too, so I read TFA.
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They tried 9 bacterias and a 1 control group. Using n=3 * (9+1) = 30 mice they got this result:
> Most remarkably, E. americana demonstrated exceptional therapeutic efficacy, achieving potent tumor suppression and complete tumor regression (complete response, CR) following a single bacterial administration. The therapeutic kinetics revealed that mice treated with R. qingshengii exhibited initial tumor suppression up to day 5 post-injection; however, tumor re-growth was subsequently observed, suggesting that while this strain possesses antitumor activity, its therapeutic effects are not sustained long-term.
They claim "p < 0.0001" that in my opinion is a loooot of zeros for only 3 mice.
They end the experiment after 40 days, so it's not clear if the cancer would reappear after a a few months.
They tried again with 5 mice, and got similar results, so it doesn't look like a fluke, but it's a very short time to claim an "elimination" line in the title of the press release. The research article has a more neutral tone.
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It looks like the idea is that these bacterias can survive without oxygen, so they are happy to live in the tumor that usually has a low number of capilar and blood and oxygen. IIUC the bacterias kill the nearby tumor cells, perhaps steal their food and also make the immune system go there and kill everything just in case. This sounds like a sensible idea, but it's too far from my area to be sure.
OutOfHere|2 months ago
This is not to be confused with dismissing with an article-specific argument (which you don't have).
gus_massa|2 months ago
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They tried 9 bacterias and a 1 control group. Using n=3 * (9+1) = 30 mice they got this result:
> Most remarkably, E. americana demonstrated exceptional therapeutic efficacy, achieving potent tumor suppression and complete tumor regression (complete response, CR) following a single bacterial administration. The therapeutic kinetics revealed that mice treated with R. qingshengii exhibited initial tumor suppression up to day 5 post-injection; however, tumor re-growth was subsequently observed, suggesting that while this strain possesses antitumor activity, its therapeutic effects are not sustained long-term.
They claim "p < 0.0001" that in my opinion is a loooot of zeros for only 3 mice.
They end the experiment after 40 days, so it's not clear if the cancer would reappear after a a few months.
They tried again with 5 mice, and got similar results, so it doesn't look like a fluke, but it's a very short time to claim an "elimination" line in the title of the press release. The research article has a more neutral tone.
---
It looks like the idea is that these bacterias can survive without oxygen, so they are happy to live in the tumor that usually has a low number of capilar and blood and oxygen. IIUC the bacterias kill the nearby tumor cells, perhaps steal their food and also make the immune system go there and kill everything just in case. This sounds like a sensible idea, but it's too far from my area to be sure.