Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong on a New Approach to Killing Cancer

A Personal Connection to Cancer

• 💔 The discussion is framed by the recent announcement of Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of JFK and Jackie O, being diagnosed with a rare, terminal blood and bone-marrow cancer, with less than a year to live.
• 🎯 This personal story highlights the urgent need for better cancer treatments, despite existing advances.

Dr. Soon-Shiong's Novel Cancer Treatment

• 💡 Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire surgeon and owner of the LA Times, presents an unconventional approach to treating cancer.
• 🔬 His method, tested on nearly 1,000 patients in clinical trials, aims to use the body's own immune system to attack cancer cells.
• 🧬 Unlike traditional high-dose chemotherapy or radiation, this approach uses low doses of existing treatments to "smoke out" tumors, allowing the immune system to then target them.
• ✅ The core of the treatment involves activating natural killer cells and T-cells without expanding suppressor cells, a mechanism already approved by the FDA.

Challenges with FDA Approval and Access

• 🚧 Dr. Soon-Shiong expresses frustration with the FDA's process, stating that while the mechanism is approved, getting approval for specific tumor types is a lengthy, trial-by-trial process.
• ⚠️ He argues that the FDA's current pathway is not designed for treatments that activate the immune system, which he believes is a paradigm shift in cancer therapy.
• 📈 He points to a potential pathway for accelerated approval based on a "plausible mechanism of action" and evidence of safety, which could allow more patients access.

The Goal: Awareness and Patient Access

• 📣 The primary goal of the special program is to raise awareness about this new approach and its potential.
• 🤝 Dr. Soon-Shiong hopes for a middle ground or accommodation with the FDA to allow access for desperate patients who have exhausted other options.
• 🗣️ The conversation emphasizes the importance of allowing patients to make informed choices about treatments, especially when facing terminal diagnoses.