NEW YORK -- When most of us talk about vaccines, we think about preventing a disease from occurring. Most of the common childhood vaccines are designed with this in mind, but in the future, don’t be surprised to see vaccines that are made to treat illness.
An example of one is in this month’s issue of Clinical Cancer Research.
Without getting too bogged down in the details, a therapeutic cancer vaccine has shown effectiveness when given alongside Chemotherapy to patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
This particular vaccine, still being studied, is designed to stimulate the immune system of patients who already have cancer. Basically, a modified virus (altered in the lab) enters cells and produces a tumor protein in cancer patients that activates the body’s immune system to attack the tumor.
Once again, this research is early but it makes sense and could be an example of a great weapon and way to treat disease.
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