Cancer these days are so common that there is a 50 to 75 per cent chance that someone in you family could be diagnosed with it. Cancer takes many forms and to date, there is no known cure that can completely eliminate this disease.
The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that causes different types of cancers. The HPV 16 and HPV 18 cause cervical and vulval cancer. A recent study by a leading Cancer Research scientific team found a vaccine to combat against certain forms of the Human Papilomavirus.
The vaccine, known as TA-HPV was modified from a smallpox vaccine. Scientists tested the vaccine in 18 women with Vulval Intraepithelial Neoplasia (VIN), a form of vulval cancer. This form of vulval cancer is very hard to treat as the precancerous lesions appear on the lining of the vulva.
Following the vaccination, 13 out of the 18 women were found to develop a specific immune reaction towards HPV. Also, in 8 out of the 18 women, the cancerous lesions shrunk by 50 percent. The patients also experienced symptom relief. These results were encouraging as more than half women in the study gained clinical benefits.
The best part of this vaccine is that it is relatively free of side effects. However, scientists who came up with this vaccine also believe that this vaccine will be most useful if used as a part of a combination of treatments. This vaccine is also more than a glimmer of hope for women whose bodies have already started generating some kind of immune response against the disease.
It is also possible that repeated vaccination may be more effective in combating the disease. This is because, when a patient is given a number of shots of vaccine during a course of treatment, it helps to build up an immune response against cancer.
Treatment vaccines such as the TA- HPV vaccine will play an important role in controlling cancers. Studies such as this raise awareness about how vaccines direct the immune system against cancer. Vaccines such as this are vaccines of hope that may give many a second chance to lead a normal, cancer-free life.