Cell therapy provides a fourth choice for the cancer patients to battle the malignant invasion of cancerous cells. Though cell therapy is still at experimental stage, its occasional success has kindled new hope of stopping the spread of disease that some call it smart medicine while other regards it as an individualized precision treatment.
At this presentation, I will look at this trial therapy from bioethical perspectives and discuss what should be cautious in the process.
There are two parts in this presentation, first is ethics and the other cell therapy. Bioethics especially research ethics has a clear goal, namely, the protection of human subjects. The bioethics principles have advocated the importance of veracity and others. Some medical procedures in cell therapy have successfully stopped the progress of the aggressive diseases while others remain unaffected. Patients often have naïve expectation that cell therapy will work as wonder but some attempts have failed times after times. To avoid giving any unrealistic hope, physicians must “ tell the truth, nothing but the truth” during the informed consent process. Secondly, this presentation will share some successful attempts in other countries while keeping in mind that cell therapy must be carried on with caution. |
