Opinion: Using CRISPR for the ‘smaller wins,’ like making chemotherapy less toxic
Big breakthroughs in cancer treatment are great. But don't overlook the value of smaller wins, which can be big ones for patients.
Although the phrase “war on cancer” was first uttered in 1971, the breakthroughs in biomedical research that have emerged during this decade have supercharged the fight. The introduction of CRISPR-Cas9 — the molecular scissors that can edit DNA — makes the idea of powerful new tools to treat and prevent cancer feel tantalizingly close.
Ambitious efforts to prevent or beat cancer are important, but we can’t overlook or undervalue the incremental breakthroughs that could quickly reach patients and improve lives. What if, for example, we used CRISPR to make chemotherapy a bit less terrible for patients suffering with cancer now? That’s
