New cancer vaccine can teach the immune system to ‘see’ rogue cells and kill them
- Vaccine teaches immune system to recognise rogue cells as part of treatment
- Method involves extracting immune cells from a patient, altering them in lab
- they can then ‘see’ a protein common to many cancers and then reinjected
A trial vaccine is showing promising results in patients with a range of cancers.
One woman treated with the vaccine, which teaches the immune system to recognise rogue cells, saw her ovarian cancer disappear for more than 18 months.
One woman treated with the vaccine, which teaches the immune system to recognise rogue cells, saw her ovarian cancer disappear for more than 18 months (stock image)
The method involves extracting immune cells from a patient, altering them in the laboratory so they can ‘see’ a protein common to many cancers called HER2, and then reinjecting the cells.
Professor Jay Berzofsky, of the US National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, said: ‘Our results suggest that we have a very promising vaccine.’
HER2 ‘drives the growth of several types of cancer’, including breast, ovarian, lung and colorectal cancers, Prof Berzofsky explained.
A similar approach of taking immune cells out of patients and ‘teaching’ them how to target cancer cells has worked in treating a type of leukaemia.
The method involves extracting immune cells from a patient, altering them in the laboratory so they can ‘see’ a protein common to many cancers called HER2, and then reinjecting the cells