Cancer Treatment Could Get a Vaccine
2023-07-04
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1The next big development in cancer treatment could be a vaccine.
2After years of limited success of vaccines to treat cancer, scientists say research has made many advancements.
3Many doctors predict more vaccines will be out in five years.
4They are not traditional vaccines that prevent disease.
5Instead, they are shots to shrink tumors and stop the cancer from coming back.
6Targets for these experimental treatments include breast and lung cancer.
7There were also gains reported this year for the deadly skin cancer melanoma and for pancreatic cancer.
8Dr. James Gulley helps lead a center at the U.S. National Cancer Institute that develops immune treatments, including cancer treatment vaccines.
9"We're getting something to work. Now we need to get it to work better," he said.
10More than ever, scientists understand how cancer hides from the body's immune system.
11Cancer vaccines, like other immune system treatments, strengthen the immune system to find and kill cancer cells.
12Some new cancer vaccines use mRNA, which was developed for cancer but was first used for COVID-19 vaccines.
13For a vaccine to work, it needs to teach the immune system's T cells to recognize cancer as dangerous, said Dr. Nora Disis.
14She is with University of Washington Medicine's Cancer Vaccine Institute in Seattle.
15Once trained, T cells can travel anywhere in the body to hunt down danger, she said.
16Patient volunteers are very important to the research.
17Fifty-year-old Kathleen Jade learned she had breast cancer in late February.
18She waited on a hospital bed for her third dose of an experimental vaccine.
19She is getting the vaccine to see if it will shrink her tumor before surgery.
20"Even if that chance is a little bit, I felt like it's worth it," Jade said.
21Progress on treatment vaccines has been difficult.
22The first such vaccine, Provenge, was approved in the U.S. in 2010 to treat prostate cancer.
23It requires processing a patient's own immune cells in a lab and returning them through the veins.
24There are also treatment vaccines for early bladder cancer and advanced melanoma.
25Early cancer vaccine research had difficulties.
26The cancer would outfight patients' weak immune systems, said Olja Finn.
27She is a vaccine researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
28"All of these trials that failed allowed us to learn so much," Finn said.
29Finn's research is now centered on patients with whose cancers were caught early.
30That is because the experimental vaccines did not help with more advanced patients.
31Finn's group is planning a vaccine study in women with a low-risk form of breast cancer.
32More vaccines that prevent cancer may be coming. Decades-old hepatitis B vaccines prevent liver cancer.
33HPV vaccines, introduced in 2006, prevent cervical cancer.
34People with the condition Lynch syndrome have a 60 percent to 80 percent lifetime risk of developing cancer.
35Getting them to take part in cancer vaccine trials has been easy, said Dr. Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
36He is leading two government-supported studies on vaccines for Lynch-related cancers.
37Drug producers Moderna and Merck are developing a personalized mRNA vaccine for patients with melanoma.
38The vaccines are designed for each patient, based on the many differences in their cancer tissue.
39A personalized vaccine can train the immune system to hunt for the cancer's mutation and kill those cells.
40The vaccines under development at the University of Washington are designed to work for many patients.
41Tests are ongoing in early and advanced breast cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer.
42Some results may come as soon as next year.
43Jamie Crase was one of the first people to receive the ovarian cancer vaccine.
44She got the vaccine during a safety study 11 years ago.
45Crase was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer at the age of 34.
46She thought she would die young. Now she is 50, with no sign of cancer.
47She does not know for sure if the vaccine helped. But, she said, "I'm still here."
48I'm Ashley Thompson.
1The next big development in cancer treatment could be a vaccine. 2After years of limited success of vaccines to treat cancer, scientists say research has made many advancements. Many doctors predict more vaccines will be out in five years. 3They are not traditional vaccines that prevent disease. Instead, they are shots to shrink tumors and stop the cancer from coming back. Targets for these experimental treatments include breast and lung cancer. There were also gains reported this year for the deadly skin cancer melanoma and for pancreatic cancer. 4Dr. James Gulley helps lead a center at the U.S. National Cancer Institute that develops immune treatments, including cancer treatment vaccines. "We're getting something to work. Now we need to get it to work better," he said. 5More than ever, scientists understand how cancer hides from the body's immune system. Cancer vaccines, like other immune system treatments, strengthen the immune system to find and kill cancer cells. Some new cancer vaccines use mRNA, which was developed for cancer but was first used for COVID-19 vaccines. 6For a vaccine to work, it needs to teach the immune system's T cells to recognize cancer as dangerous, said Dr. Nora Disis. She is with University of Washington Medicine's Cancer Vaccine Institute in Seattle. Once trained, T cells can travel anywhere in the body to hunt down danger, she said. 7Patient volunteers are very important to the research. 8Fifty-year-old Kathleen Jade learned she had breast cancer in late February. She waited on a hospital bed for her third dose of an experimental vaccine. She is getting the vaccine to see if it will shrink her tumor before surgery. 9"Even if that chance is a little bit, I felt like it's worth it," Jade said. 10Progress on treatment vaccines has been difficult. The first such vaccine, Provenge, was approved in the U.S. in 2010 to treat prostate cancer. It requires processing a patient's own immune cells in a lab and returning them through the veins. There are also treatment vaccines for early bladder cancer and advanced melanoma. 11Early cancer vaccine research had difficulties. The cancer would outfight patients' weak immune systems, said Olja Finn. She is a vaccine researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. 12"All of these trials that failed allowed us to learn so much," Finn said. 13Finn's research is now centered on patients with whose cancers were caught early. That is because the experimental vaccines did not help with more advanced patients. Finn's group is planning a vaccine study in women with a low-risk form of breast cancer. 14More vaccines that prevent cancer may be coming. Decades-old hepatitis B vaccines prevent liver cancer. HPV vaccines, introduced in 2006, prevent cervical cancer. 15People with the condition Lynch syndrome have a 60 percent to 80 percent lifetime risk of developing cancer. Getting them to take part in cancer vaccine trials has been easy, said Dr. Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He is leading two government-supported studies on vaccines for Lynch-related cancers. 16Drug producers Moderna and Merck are developing a personalized mRNA vaccine for patients with melanoma. The vaccines are designed for each patient, based on the many differences in their cancer tissue. A personalized vaccine can train the immune system to hunt for the cancer's mutation and kill those cells. 17The vaccines under development at the University of Washington are designed to work for many patients. Tests are ongoing in early and advanced breast cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer. Some results may come as soon as next year. 18Jamie Crase was one of the first people to receive the ovarian cancer vaccine. She got the vaccine during a safety study 11 years ago. Crase was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer at the age of 34. She thought she would die young. Now she is 50, with no sign of cancer. 19She does not know for sure if the vaccine helped. But, she said, "I'm still here." 20I'm Ashley Thompson. 21Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 22_________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24advance - n. beyond the basic level 25dose - n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin that is taken at one time 26tissue - n. a piece of soft and very thin paper that is used especially for cleaning 27mutation - n. a change in the genes of a plant or animal that causes physical characteristics that are different from what is normal