Ovarian Cancer Vaccines Set for Human Trials

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States.  Researchers from the University of Connecticut are using a new technique that identifies protein mutations in cancer cells to develop a vaccine for ovarian cancer.  To understand how the vaccine works, it is important to understand the interaction between the immune system and cancer cells.

Before the immune system can attack cancer cells, it must first be able to recognize them.  There are a sequence of proteins known as epitopes which are located on the outside of each cell.  The immune system scans these epitopes to determine whether cells are good or bad.  Cancer cells also have epitopes, but they are very similar to the epitopes of healthy cells.  It is almost impossible for the immune system to differentiate the two, making it hard to determine which cells need to be destroyed.  Cancer cell epitopes have tiny mutations.  Researchers set out to identify these mutations with hopes of enabling the immune system to recognize them.  Dr. Srivastava stated, "We want to break the immune system's ignorance."

      The immune system is responsible for scanning epitopes on the outside

 of cells in order to determine which cells need to be destroyed.

DNA sequences from the skin tumors of mice were analyzed and compared with the DNA sequences from the healthy tissue of mice.  In order to create a vaccine against cancer, the team of researchers assessed the difference between the mice's cancer cell epitopes and the epitopes of their healthy cells.  A vaccine was developed by using the differing cancer cell epitopes found in the mice.  When the vaccine was administered to the mice, the mice developed a strong resistance to skin cancer.  The team plans to test the vaccine in patients with ovarian cancer once it has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration.  Testing this vaccine against ovarian cancer is the primary focus of researchers because ovarian cancer often rebounds 1-2 years after remission.  This will give researchers time to determine the overall effectiveness of the vaccine within two years.

This article caught my eye, as I have a family member battling ovarian cancer.  The research of any disease means a lot to me, but I have a personal connection to ovarian cancer.  The potential effect that this vaccine could have is remarkable.  Not only could the method used in this study be beneficial to ovarian cancer, but also for the development of vaccines for other cancers.  This study could have a profound impact on the future of cancer research.

Article [1]: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/284055.php
Related Articles:
http://www.sciencecodex.com/researchers_develop_personalized_ovarian_cancer_vaccines-143687
http://www.onclive.com/web-exclusives/New-Method-Explored-for-Personalized-Vaccines-for-Ovarian-Cancer