Vaccine shrinks prostate tumours in mice
A vaccine containing a broad spectrum of tumour antigens delivered in a virus vector successfully treated 8 out of 10 mice with prostate cancer.
Pieces of DNA from normal cells were added to a virus vector to make an anti-cancer vaccine. Injecting this vaccine into mice stimulated an immune response that ‘cured established tumours.'
Previous attempts at creating vaccines against cancers have often failed because they either fail to elicit a sufficient immune response or have caused unwanted immune reactions against healthy tissue.
This approach to cancer treatment holds promise because the vaccine is injected and there is no need for a drug delivery system that specifically targets the tumour.
There is also the possibility that new vaccines can be created that contain DNA components tailored to other cancers. Human trials using this approach are expected within a few years.