Finally new vaccines against cancer? – “Turning Point” – 2024-04-20 01:10:37

At the annual meeting of cancer doctors and researchers in San Diego, results were heard that once again give hope that new types of cancer vaccines are on the way.

Two clinical trials were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting, suggesting that the vaccine may prevent or at least reduce the risk of reoccurring certain cancers after surgery.

One of the studies concerned head and neck cancers, the other pancreatic cancer.

AACR even talked about a turning point in cancer vaccine research.

A rough characterization of the basic idea of ​​the new vaccine is that if most of the cancerous tumor has been removed, the vaccine can be used to stimulate the immune system so that the cancerous tumor does not recur.

Tailored vaccines

The cancer vaccines of the future may be individualized, that is, they will be tailored for each patient with the help of artificial intelligence.

Cancer prevention vaccines already exist. They can be used to prevent viral infections that may lead to cancer.

The HPV vaccine prevents papilloma virus infections. This vaccine prevents cervical cancer and its precursors. The HBV vaccine prevents infections caused by the hepatitis B virus and also liver cancer.

Already in 2022, a couple of professors who became known for the development of corona vaccines Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci said that he had made breakthroughs in cancer vaccine research.

At that time, Professor Şahin estimated that cancer vaccines would certainly be in use before 2030. The cancer vaccines in the research phase make use of the mRNA technology that has become familiar from corona vaccines.