Can A Vaccine Prevent Brain Cancer Recurrence?

[trotsky]

Eligible patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, are enrolling in the ACT III clinical trial of a vaccine called CDX-110, which may prevent recurrence and extend survival. Physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, together with Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center, are helping to lead the Phase II multicenter trial of the vaccine, which is thought to work by "training" the immune system to target and kill cancer cells.

"Even after surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, this deadly brain cancer has a high likelihood of recurrence. This experimental vaccine is designed to harness the body's immune system to keep the cancer at bay," says Dr. Theodore Schwartz, site principal investigator and neurosurgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and associate professor of neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College.

"Results from earlier trials are promising, and suggest that the vaccine may be able to improve both time to disease progression and length of survival," says Dr. Rose Lai, site principal investigator and neuro-oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, and assistant professor of neurology in the Division of Neuro-Oncology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Source: Medical News Today
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[MADem]

1. Thank you for this.

I have someone near and dear who will be interested.

[tabatha]

2. Interesting.

"designed to harness the body's immune system to keep the cancer at bay".

"Prophylactic vaccines are given to healthy individuals to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer-causing viruses and prevent viral infection."

I guess it is all about the body's immune system - to fight off viruses.

For a long time, it was thought that ulcers were caused by too much acid in the diet, then it was found that they were caused by viruses.

How you live, and what you eat can also build strong immune systems - so that getting to the point where medicines are necessary can be avoided.

[cosmik debris]

3. Bizarre.

"...so that getting to the point where medicines are necessary can be avoided."

Do you know ANYTHING about glioblastoma?

[tabatha]

7. Have you seen the stastics of survivalibilty of glioblastoma

with chemo and current procedures? Not good.

Do you have experience of anyone who has been treated using food and completely recovered?

[cosmik debris]

12. You are not making sense.

I guess you are just making stuff up to sound smart, but you really sound profoundly ignorant.

[LeftishBrit]

14. I know the statistics too well, having lost a friend to this awful disease

However, I know of no case where food has cured it.

[trotsky]

4. Actually they found that ulcers were caused by bacteria.

Quite a different creature. And the immune system can attack just about anything from a basic protein to a complete cell. It just has to understand what's a threat and what isn't. No amount of healthy living will convince your immune system that brain cancer cells should be attacked. From what it sounds like in the article, surgery and medicine would still be necessary to get the tumor down to a manageable size, and the immune system (when properly primed) would either eliminate the rest, or keep it in check.

[tabatha]

5. From your sentence, it means that only medicines can convince

your immune system to attack the viruses that cause cancer?

[trotsky]

6. You are failing to grasp the point of this particular treatment.

In this specific case, the immune system is being told to attack brain cancer CELLS. Not a virus that *causes* brain cancer, but the cancerous cells themselves. The immune system wouldn't normally do this because those cells are mistakenly recognized as "self". You wouldn't want your own immune system attacking your own healthy cells, would you?

But Gardasil is vaccine that trains the immune system to attack cancer-causing viruses. The immune system will generally attack those on its own too, but sometimes not before they've had a chance to infect and cause damage to DNA.

[tabatha]

8. Maybe, I am - but this is the sentence that I remembered.

"Prophylactic vaccines are given to healthy individuals to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer-causing viruses and prevent viral infection."

[trotsky]

9. You would do well to read the whole paragraph where that sentence appears.

And note in particular the two different kinds of cancer vaccines that are mentioned.

(Hint: the one in question, that would help the body attack brain cancer cells, is NOT a prophylactic vaccine.)

[tabatha]

10. OK.

My whole deal with this is that these procedures are extremely costly, and are unavailable to people who are not covered by insurance. While the research is important in understanding what goes on in the body, too many people are getting sick because they are consuming processed garbage - and they cannot get treatment (some of which can cause much damage).

I have not had the flu (or any flu vaccines) for over 7 years (possibly 10). I don't know the exact number of years because I only started noticing that I was not getting flu when others were, about 5-7 years ago. I try to avoid junk food, try to keep up to date on all things with respect to nutrition from a wide variety of sources - i.e. if something is confirmed by more than one source, I believe it true. I have been told I look 15+ years younger than I am. When I had an ophthalmology test on one of my eyes, I was told that other than a freckle at the back of my eye (which did not look malignant) my eyes looked like those of a 17 year old.

People who are ill because of genetics need medical help, if they can afford it. But too much illness in this society occurs because of bad eating habits.

[trotsky]

11. Well now that you've completely veered off-topic...

You'll get no disagreement from me on the inaccessibility of this and other kinds of expensive treatment, however this is not the place to introduce preaching about eating right. You're in danger of ending up like that troll who keeps coming back, blaming people for their conditions because they MUST be doing something wrong, etc.

[LeftishBrit]

13. Some illnesses are certainly caused, or more usually exacerbated, by poor eating habits

However, brain tumours are not in that category. Anyone can get them.

I agree that too many people are denied essential tests and treatments due to not being able to afford them. And that is a tragedy in itself.

[xchrom]

15. too late to recommend -- wish i could have. nt