Cancer vaccines coming to your clinic soon.

Scientists have successfully modified a virus in order to produce a therapeutic vaccine to protect against various cancers. The cancer vaccine was able to elicit a positive response in early human cancer trials, but only a small number of patients were tested.

In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a prostate cancer vaccine, called Provenge. The ideal behind therapeutic cancer vaccines is that cancer patients usually have immune system defects, which is the factor that compromises their ability to adequately respond to malignancy. The cancer vaccine works by activating immune cells, which are the ones that have to kill tumors. These immune cells must be able to survive long enough so they can reach the tumor and then eliminate it.

In another vaccine cancer research study, the cancer vaccine was administered to 28 patients, who had recurrent and advanced forms of colon, lung, pancreatic, appendix, or breast cancer. The vaccine was given to them multiple times over a three-month period. These patients had already failed standard chemotherapy numerous times. As a result, five of the patients demonstrated a response to the vaccine. Two patients had already been in remission, but they stayed in remission. Another two had their cancers stabilize. In one of the patients, who had pancreatic cancer, a liver lesion seemed to have disappeared. The responses were more likely to occur in those patients who had smaller tumors, as well as those who were given higher doses of the cancer vaccine.

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The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.