Kidney Cancer Vaccine

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July 30, 2003 — Kidney cancer spreads fast, and when it does, it can kill within months. Now, there's a vaccine that may stop the cancer in its tracks.

Faith was more than a mere crutch for pastor Jerry Burnside when he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

"I was not afraid of dying. My faith sustained me in that, but I dreaded the process of dying," said Rev. Jerry Burnside, kidney cancer patient.

Kidney cancer is highly curable if it's caught early, but it does not respond well to standard therapies once it spreads. Jerry's had spread, so his prognosis was grim.

"If I lived a year that would really be doing well. I felt sorry for myself, had a good cry," said Rev. Burnside.

Prayer brought him peace. Science brought him hope. Duke University researchers have developed a vaccine by taking blood cells from patients, creating specialized cells and exposing them to material from their own tumor cells. The cells are then injected back into the patient where they trigger immune cells to attack the cancer.

"We don't see a very dramatic impact on the tumor itself. We don't see tumors melt away. But what we see, is that these tumors just don't grow anymore," said Johannes Vieweg, M.C., urologist/immunologist, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.

"So, I think these are well tolerated vaccines, highly specific, highly targeted," said Dr. Vieweg.

It's been more than three years since a doctor told Jerry he'd be lucky to live six months.

"I could not have had any better results or less complications," said Rev. Burnside.

The church cemetery is Jerry's sanctuary for prayer and meditation, but he's not ready to stay there just yet.

Duke researchers have also used the same immune cell technology to develop an experimental prostate cancer vaccine and say it may be useful in other types of cancers as well. Jerry is currently writing a book about his experience with kidney cancer.

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