Health security

A Cure for Cancer Might Be on the Way -- and It Could Turn Healthcare Investing Upside Down

Every now and then, I'll see an article online about some scientist who has supposedly made a breakthrough discovery that could cure cancer. Almost exactly one year ago, I read about Israeli scientists who believed they had identified peptides -- which are similar to proteins but smaller -- that could cure cancer.

The chairman of the board of the biotech researching the potential therapy even told The Jerusalem Post that his company "will offer in a year's time a complete cure for cancer." I was very skeptical at the time (as were many others). And, sure enough, the Israeli biotech's hype hasn't turned into reality.

So when the BBC reported last week about British scientists discovering an approach that, in the words of one of the researchers, "raises the prospect of a 'one-size-fits-all' cancer treatment," I was doubtful, to say the least. However, the more I learned about the new research, the less skeptical I became.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that a cure for cancer is definitely on the way. But there's at least a possibility that it could happen.