How does cancer develop?

It has been known for many years that cancer is able to evade our immune system. Cells which would normally be identified as abnormal and destroyed, grow and multiply due to cancers’ ability to hide from our immune defences.

What drugs are available to treat cancer?

The first drugs to challenge this situation were developed in 2011 and are known as checkpoint inhibitors. These drugs managed to boost the ability of the body’s T cells to attack some cancer cells; however, they only worked on some cancers. The work on boosting immunity naturally led to the notion of developing vaccines against cancerous tissue.

What research has been done on vaccines for cancer?

The initial work on vaccines was undertaken on melanoma, skin cancer. Doctors at the Dana-Faber centre in the US. analysed the DNA of patients with advanced melanoma.
They identified 20-30 abnormal proteins on the surface of the tumours and developed a personalised vaccine for each patient against these proteins.

The patients then received 7 shots of the vaccine over a six-month period, exposing the immune system increasingly to these abnormal proteins and amplifying their response against the cancer. Of the seven who received the vaccines six are still alive today, which is a very significant result

A similar approach has been tried at Mount Sinai Hospital in the US. for patients with brain tumours. They combined the vaccine approach with other immune stimulants. As a result, nine of the twelve patients are still alive two years after receiving the vaccine; the average life expectancy for patients with this condition is less than 18 months.

What is the cost of a vaccine for cancer?

This approach shows a great deal of promise, but the costs are currently very high, around $100,000 for each vaccine.

This approach is now being tested in many different areas and clearly is starting to make a difference. Although very expensive, it is likely that the costs will reduce as this becomes a more mainstream approach; it’s undoubtedly the most exciting development in cancer treatment for many years.

Paul Zollinger-Read CBE

Group Medical Director 

The views expressed in the blog are my own personal views and are not intended as medical advice.