Si Mingjing mentioned Paclitaxel, a natural anti-tumor drug extracted from yew trees.
Everyone knows the difference between cancer cells and normal cells: cancer cells have the characteristic of unlimited proliferation.
Paclitaxel promotes microtubule protein aggregation and prevents the disassembly of microtubules. This causes cells to get stuck during division, thus preventing cancer cells from proliferating indefinitely, leading to cell apoptosis and achieving an anti-cancer effect.
"Is it really that powerful?"
The ordinary guests listened, and her words sounded entirely convincing.
They thought if cancer cell division could be stopped, couldn’t that cure cancer? That would be wonderful! No one can guarantee they won’t get cancer, especially as they get older. If a cure for cancer could be found, it would indeed be a blessing for humanity.
However, the medical professionals in the room remained indifferent, not the least bit surprised. Instead, they scoffed.
Xian Chen laughed openly. "Miss Si, don’t you know that as early as 1963, Wani and Walt extracted Paclitaxel from a type of Short-leaf Rosewood Pine, which has been recognized by the international medical community as the best natural anti-cancer drug to date, and that since then, Paclitaxel and its derivatives have long become first-line drugs for tumor chemotherapy?"
What kind of major breakthrough was this?
The other doctors agreed. "That’s right. Everyone knows that Paclitaxel and its derivatives are useful for treating cancer. However, Paclitaxel’s clinical toxic side effects are also quite extensive. During chemotherapy, while the tumor might shrink, the patient’s vitality inevitably diminishes—often at a pace faster than the tumor. This leads to the majority of cancer patients dying from chemotherapy, which is the biggest dilemma in current cancer chemotherapy."
The term Paclitaxel might have been unfamiliar to the ordinary guests, but for medical practitioners, it was nothing extraordinary. Paclitaxel was, after all, already a first-line drug for cancer chemotherapy. However, Paclitaxel also had quite extensive toxic side effects; it often killed the patient while killing the cancer cells.
They had thought this Miss Si was about to usher in a medical revolution, similar to that of antibiotics. Turns out, heh...
It’s true; the ignorant have no fear.
Just as the medical colleagues were feeling dismissive, Si Mingjing suddenly announced, "My master has discovered a natural extract substitute that acts similarly to Paclitaxel, and clinical findings show it to be non-toxic."
Her words landed like a bombshell among the medical professionals present.
Xian Chen, who had been unimpressed just a second ago, suddenly held his breath. "Truly non-toxic? What is it?"
Si Mingjing stated calmly, "This extract is similar to Paclitaxel but lacks its severe side effects. It’s not extracted from plants but from the horns of the Tibetan Antelope. My master has named it Animal-derived Paclitaxel."
As Si Mingjing finished speaking, all the doctors present practically vibrated with excitement. "Is that true?"
"The Tibetan Antelope? That’s a protected species on the brink of extinction! Their horns are even rarer."
"Rarity isn’t an issue. If we can indeed extract non-toxic Paclitaxel from the horns of the Tibetan Antelope to benefit humanity, we can simply breed them on a large scale in the future, just like people raise sheep and goats..."
However, just as the discussion reached a fever pitch, Song Pianlan cut in sharply, "Si Mingjing, how dare you try to take credit for Grandpa’s research achievement? Grandpa discovered the natural, non-toxic Animal-derived Paclitaxel extracted from Tibetan Antelope horns! He dedicated his entire life to it!"