Research on treating cancer with malaria microbes ongoing

Research among cancer patient volunteers using parasites responsible for malaria is proceeding apace, despite conjecture online of the suspension of the project amid ethical and safety concerns.

The project is proceeding normally and the official website will carry any related developments, an expert with the team led by Chen Xiaoping, a researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was quoted by news website Jiemian as saying on Monday.

Among the volunteers registered with Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital affiliated with Jinan University, several have been selected by the institute and the project is ongoing, said a staff member of the hospital’s customer service.

CAS Lamvac Biotech, which was founded by Shenzhen-listed Bluedon Information Security Technologies Co in 2013 and is participating in the research, said on its website on Thursday that the volunteer quota for the research in this round had been met.

Clinical research of malaria parasite immunotherapy remains at an early stage and still requires continuous experimentation, the company said.

Chen is one of the founders of CAS Lamvac Biotech and serves as its CEO.

The issue has garnered strong public attention after Chen made a speech saying that the malaria parasite has become a new force in fighting cancers at a forum late last year.