What are cancer vaccines?
Cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy. Unlike vaccines that protect against infection, such as the Covid-19 vaccine, cancer vaccines treat people who already have the disease. They are designed to help the patient’s immune system recognize and then kill cancer cells – and prevent them from coming back.
How are cancer vaccines made?
Vaccines are tailor-made for each person, usually in just a few weeks. To make them, a sample of a patient’s tumor is taken during surgery, followed by DNA sequencing and, in some cases, the use of artificial intelligence. The result is a personalized cancer vaccine specific to the patient’s tumor.
How do they help fight cancer?
Cancer vaccines work by sending an instruction or plan to the patient’s cells to produce an antigen or protein that can distinguish cancer cells from normal cells. Vaccines stimulate the immune system to take action. The immune system makes antibodies that can recognize and attack harmless versions of the disease. Once the patient’s body produces these antibodies, it can recognize the disease if it returns.
What types of cancer can they treat?
Scientists are studying many types of cancer vaccines and how they might work on different forms of cancer. More research is needed to get a full picture of how well vaccines work and what cancers they might treat. Experts believe they could be effective in a range of cancers, including colorectal, lung, bladder, pancreatic and kidney.
Doctors have also begun testing the first personalized mRNA vaccine against melanoma. Experts have hailed its “revolutionary” potential to permanently cure skin cancer. A phase 2 trial found that the vaccines significantly reduced the risk of cancer recurrence in melanoma patients.
How can people access cancer vaccines?
The research is still in its early stages, so vaccines are mainly available through clinical trials. The NHS is launching a program that will give thousands of patients in England access to cancer vaccine trials.
What is the cancer vaccine launch pad?
The NHS program in England is the first of its kind in the world. It aims to recruit thousands of cancer patients, with a matching service, by subjecting them to clinical trials on vaccines that could help them.
When he begins to recruit?
It’s already the case. The first NHS patient to join the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad is Elliot Pfebve, a 55-year-old lecturer who had no symptoms and was diagnosed with colorectal cancer after a routine check-up.
How did doctors create this personalized vaccine?
Pfebve first underwent surgery to remove his tumor, followed by chemotherapy. His personalized vaccine was created by analyzing his tumor to identify mutations specific to his own cancer. He then received his vaccine via an infusion at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, one of several sites taking part in a BioNTech colorectal cancer vaccine trial. It was designed with the same mRNA technology used to create the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine.
How is the patient?
Principal investigator of the Birmingham trial, Dr Victoria Kunene, said it was too early to say whether the patient had been completely cured, but said she was “extremely hopeful”. “Based on the limited data we currently have on the body’s response to the vaccine, this could prove to be a significant and positive development for patients, but more data is still needed and we continue to recruit appropriate patients for the vaccine. “test to establish this further,” she said.
How can I register?
The NHS has already enrolled dozens of patients on its cancer vaccine launchpad and will now accelerate recruitment, with thousands of people offered access to cancer vaccine trials each year. Cancer patients can talk to their GP about whether they can take part in the trials.
Whatever is the arrival of vaccines against cancer?
Vaccines have revolutionized medicine, protecting millions of people against measles, mumps, polio and coronavirus. They also eradicated smallpox, one of the deadliest diseases in human history. Experts now believe they may be part of the toolbox needed to fight cancer for good. They will not soon replace surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy but could play a key role in immunotherapy, the fourth weapon against cancer.
The challenges are many and making personalized vaccines for each patient takes time, but it is hoped that the process can be accelerated in the future. Doctors and scientists have been working on cancer vaccines for decades, but they have now reached a point where they are seeing real benefits for patients.
News Source : www.theguardian.com
Gn Health
