Posted on 09/22/2003 2:18:10 AM PDT by Prince Charles
Vaccine 'cure' for cancer
By Isabel Oakeshott, Evening Standard
22 September 2003
Scientists said today they are on the brink of a major cancer breakthrough with a revolutionary vaccine.
The new technique has produced dramatic results against one of the most vicious cancers, that of the pancreas, which has a 95 per cent mortality rate.
The findings, which raise hope that a cure is within reach, are being unveiled at a major international conference in Copenhagen.
An American team was revealing a new treatment-based on the body’s ability to fight disease. Patients were given powerful injections of material taken from their own cells, designed to assist their immune systems, recognise and attack the disease.
The vaccines are designed for patients who already have cancer and help their bodies over-whelm the tumours. They are tailor-made to each individual, using so-called heat-shock proteins produced by the body to help cells rebuild themselves after potentially lethal attacks.
Today the US team said that almost a third of the patients lived twice as long as expected — for at least two years. One patient was alive and disease-free after five years.
Typical life expectancy after surgery for pancreatic cancer is just over one year.
Oncologist Dr Robert Maki, from New York, said: “Tests on the patients showed that at least some people we examined made a response against the vaccine, and therefore, hopefully, against the cancer.
“Over 95 per cent of people with pancreatic cancer die, typically within two years of diagnosis, and mortality is still about 90 per cent even for those who have complete removal of their pancreatic cancer. So the finding of even a few patients surviving two years or more is promising.”
Scientists have been working on the vaccines since the Nineties. Although some human trials have taken place, so far much of the research has been laboratorybased.
Today the US-led team revealed that work on the vaccines had entered a new phase with patients now seeing the benefit of years of laboratory research.
If successful, the vaccines could eliminate the need for conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
At the European Cancer Conference in Copenhagen, the US team was revealing that the technique could also be used to develop effective vaccines against infectious diseases.
Dr Maki said: “It is gratifying to see the studies move from bench to patients. This same technique could also be used in preparing vaccines against infectious disease — another very large area of potential use.”
Last month it emerged that the treatment had also produced “ very promising” results against colon cancer.
Trials on patients with advanced kidney cancer also showed exciting results — with half of the patients still alive two years after their vaccines.
Normally, only 15 per cent would have been expected to survive.
In trials for skin cancer, 95 per cent of the patients were still alive 14 months after treatment, when the expected survival rate would normally be between 40 and 50 per cent.
Vaccines based on heatshock proteins taken from the patients’ own tumours send their immune systems into “overdrive”, killing the cancer.
However, scientists stress that the treatment is still at an early stage. They will only know how effective it is when much larger trials have been carried out.
Trials so far have typically involved fewer than 20 carefully selected patients.
Although similar techniques have been used against skin cancers, experts said these were relatively easy to treat, unlike pancreatic cancer which until now has almost always killed the sufferer.
This is exciting news re cancer treatment. Hopefully in my lifetime we will see even more strides taken against this horrible disease.
This rates up there with the anti fluoridation and aspartame crowd.
Looks like she saw the word "vaccine" and then just went bonkers.
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