Scientists Have Developed a Vaccine that Prevents Brain Cancer

According to the National Cancer Institute 21,810 Americans will be diagnosed with brain cancer this year. Cancer is one of the primary causes of death in the US with brain cancer being one of the deadliest cancer forms, which expected to cause about 13,000 deaths this year alone. Because of the location of this particular type of cancer, tumor treatment is difficult and generally involves possibly life-threatening or life-altering surgical tumor removal, radiation, and chemotherapy.

Naturally, scientists have been looking for alternative ways to treat cancer with special focus on the genetic development of cancer cells and the development of possible 'killer viruses.' Ideal of course would be a method to prevent the development of cancer altogether. Now it looks like scientists have taken a first step towards that goal by finding a way to immunize patients against brain cancer re-growth. Scientists at Duke University's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center found a vaccine that prevents tumor re-growth in brain cancer patients. The study was presented during an oral presentation at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago on June 2, 2008. Could this eventually lead to an immunization vaccine against all types of cancer? Could this dreadful disease be eradicated just like other diseases such as smallpox, measles, and chickenpox? Could we avoid cancer through simple immunization procedures?

Cancer is deadly. But scientists have managed to develop better and more targeted treatment methods and in recent years the death rate has actually decreased. Still, 1,000 American succumb daily to cancer and a real cure or even prevention method has yet to be found.

A lab-engineered 'killer virus' against brain cancer has shown promising results in initial tests. Although it appears not to affect other areas, further tests are needed to study long-term effects. The potential danger of viruses is commonly known. Even though a lab-created virus may appear to be more controllable one just never quite knows what may eventually happen. We already know how quickly a virus can mutate just by looking at HIV/AIDS and even the annual flu season.

This begs the question, why would we bring a foreign and potentially dangerous organism into a patient's body? Wouldn't it be easier to simply boost the patient's immune system itself to help it to target the formation of tumor cells? Can't we just help the immune system recognize the beginnings of a tumor cell development as an 'enemy' it has to attack? Haven't we done that for decades to prevent other diseases?

This is an approach scientists at Duke University's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center are investigating. They have developed an initial vaccine to boost the body's own immunity to brain cancer. Thus far they tested it on patients who have already gone through brain cancer treatment. The tests were focused on the vaccines ability to prevent brain cancer re-growth. In these tests the vaccine was successful in doubling the survival rate/time of patients.

The vaccine coaxes the immune system into recognizing tumor cells by noticing the expression of a certain protein called epithelial growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) which is only expressed in the tumor cells but not in normal cells. This leads to the immune systems response of eliminating such tumor cells and preventing tumor re-growth.

Of course further studies and human trials are needed to test the effectiveness of the vaccine and to refine it. But hopefully we may eventually be able to eradicate cancer through a simple immunization procedure just as we did with so many other diseases.