Here’s a Typical Story about Cancer Research

Yesterday, the BBC published a breathless report about a new study headlined “Modified ecstasy ‘attacks blood cancers.’” The research appeared in the journal Investigational New Drugs.

The modified ecstasy killed all leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma cells in vitro but the doses used “would have been fatal if given to people.”

According to the BBC, “A charity said the findings were a ‘significant step forward’” without actually naming the charity or explaining how a charity could speak.

The word “exciting” is used three times in the story, which is only 500 words long.

The investigators said that they were planning to modify the drug further. If the next iteration of the drug works in the test tube and if it works in animals, it could be available for clinical trials in humans in only 10 years.

The story ends with a quote from a Dr David Grant, scientific director of the charity Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research [possibly the earlier unnamed charity]. He said: "Further work is required but this research is a significant step forward in developing a potential new cancer drug."