Ovarian Cancer Vaccine Made From Tumor Cells Yields Responses
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-06/ovarian-cancer-vaccine-made-from-tumor-cells-yields-responses.html
Scientists have crafted an experimental vaccine against advanced ovarian cancer that was safe and triggered an immune response using muscled-up blood cells primed by tumors that were taken from the patients.
It took 7 days to make the injection individually for each woman, according to a report today at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington. The therapeutic vaccine was the first step in a two-part process that involved teaching the womans blood cells to recognize the cancer, then infusing an army of her own infection-fighting immune system cells to attack the tumor. The study was the first clinical trial of this new approach.
While the research in 31 patients wasnt large or long enough to prove they all did better than with traditional care, 19 showed positive responses, said Lana Kandalaft, director of clinical development at the Ovarian Cancer Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. One woman who had suffered several previous relapses before treatment remains cancer-free after almost four years, defying expectations.
We are preventing progression of already existing disease, said Kandalaft, the studys lead researcher, in a telephone interview. Most of the patients are now on maintenance vaccine, just to keep the system going. We havent seen them recur. We are seeing how long they can go.