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June 12, 2002
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"On the Trail of a Cancer Vaccine"
San Jose Mercury News (www0.mercurycenter.com) (06/10/02); Jacobs, Paul
Over 20 companies are working on a new generation of products in an attempt to be the first to successful develop a cancer vaccine. The approaches include personalized vaccines using a patient's own tumor cells, using proteins or sugar molecules unique to certain cancers, and targeting blood cells that can activate an immune response. The current vaccines can improve first-line cancer treatments, but do not have the ability to work on a standalone basis. One of the problems cancer vaccine developers face is that they can only test products on people with advanced cancer with no other treatment options, the population least likely to be helped.
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