Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.

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November 13, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Vaccine to Fight Cancer Gets Closer"

Sydney Morning Herald (www.smh.com.au) (11/13/02) P. 5; Pollard, Ruth

At St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Australia, oncology specialist Robyn Ward and fellow scientists say a vaccine against common cancers has been proven to be safe and effective in humans during first stage trials.  Using a cocktail of synthetic human antibodies derived from cancer patients who have demonstrated a good immune response, the vaccine targets the p53 tumor suppressor gene, which affects 50 percent of all cancers.  Ward explained that the human immune system does not automatically recognize tumors as foreign, but that the vaccine will stimulate an immune response against the tumor.  Believed to be useful in fighting breast, bowel, prostate, lung, renal, head, and neck cancers, Ward said the vaccine "would be preventative ... to stop the cancer [from] coming back, because it is generally the secondary cancer, not the primary cancer, that kills people."  Second phase-global human trials of the vaccine are slated to begin in 2003.

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