NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[Doktornolittle]

Regarding stable tumor size.

I guess I undersand Pyrrho's concern about having a partially necrotic tumor; the mechanical degradation potentially allowing healthy cancer cells to float away and become mets. But, if you are going to kill the tumor you are going to have a state of mixed live and necrotic cells at some point. There is no way to avoid that, other than surgery.

Still, I would hope that the immunotherapies are better at killing single cell and small mets than the chemotherapies. The chemotherapies often rely on the cancer being more challenged than native tissue, thermally, getting oxygen, getting rid of waste and CO2, etc, all related to crowding. Single cell castaways and early mets have no such crowding. What they do have is greater surface area to volume ratios than tumors, allowing less penetrating immune components, (such as antibodies?), better access.

I know someone with lung cancer, undergoing chemo. The chemo has all tumors in a quiet state of some sort, possibly necrotic. But they can't be too certain that the tumors are dead, because they are continuing the $100K/year chemo indefinitely. I think he gets infusions every three or 4 months. There is a huge knot on his chest where he gets the infusions.

My point being that everyone is happy with the status of his cancer as stable disease. I know him because he swims laps at the same pool where I swim laps. He is a Stanford patient.