http://www.ivanhoe.com/stream/lymphomavaccine.shtml
Lymphoma Vaccine
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TAMPA, Fla. (Ivanhoe
Newswire) — Modern science has given us vaccines to fight off tetanus,
influenza and measles. However, is it possible to create a vaccine that can
fight cancer? The key ingredient in an experimental vaccine against
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma may lie within the patient's own body.
For years, attorney Ron
Wigginton never worried about his health. "If there was anyone who ever
thought they were immortal, I probably, I probably did," he says.
Then a large, painless lump
developed on his forehead.
Wigginton says,
"Initially intended to go to a plastic surgeon to have it cut out."
Instead, Wigginton was told
it was serious — Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a common, but often incurable cancer
of the lymph glands. According to the National Cancer Institute, average
survival time for advanced cases is 10 years. Chemotherapy can put it into
remission, but in many cases, the cancer returns, sometimes repeatedly.
"But that remission will be
shorter and you can keep doing this over and over again until you get to that
10-year period," says hematologist/oncologist Thomas Loughran, M.D., of
the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
Dr. Loughran is studying a
new vaccine designed to keep the lymphoma from coming back. "The vaccine
is actually specifically made from the patient's own cancer cells," he
says.
The patient's cancer cells
are removed, mixed with immune-boosting proteins and saline, and then given
back to the patient once the cancer is in remission.
In a small, pilot study of 20
patients, 18 were cancer-free after four years.
Dr. Loughran says,
"They developed active killer cells in their blood that specifically
recognized their lymphoma."
Wigginton doesn't know yet
if the vaccine worked for him, but he hopes it's a step in the right direction
for other cancer patients.
The vaccine is being tested
on one of the most common types of lymphoma, called follicular Non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma. It strikes up to 25,000 people each year in the United States,
usually between ages 60 and 65.
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If you
would like more information, please contact: University of South Florida H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center 12902 Magnolia Drive Tampa, Florida 33612-9497 (813) 632-1478 Related
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KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
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