It will take 2 of those 5 years just to ascertain at what levels it is safe, and then another two years to determine whether it is better than the current standard-of-care.
While we're all desperate (some more than others) for a break-through in cancer treatment, it seems perfectly reasonable to demonstrate that something is both safe and better than the current standard-of-care before physicians start rolling this out to everyone affected by the brain tumours this therapy would help.
I sympathize with the sentiment that delaying rolling out a therapy like this seems inhumane, it would be no less (and arguably more) inhumane to roll out a therapy where we didn't establish safe doses and effectiveness to the best of our ability. Both potentially result in deaths.
While we're all desperate (some more than others) for a break-through in cancer treatment, it seems perfectly reasonable to demonstrate that something is both safe and better than the current standard-of-care before physicians start rolling this out to everyone affected by the brain tumours this therapy would help.
I sympathize with the sentiment that delaying rolling out a therapy like this seems inhumane, it would be no less (and arguably more) inhumane to roll out a therapy where we didn't establish safe doses and effectiveness to the best of our ability. Both potentially result in deaths.