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The term cancer vaccine is often used to describe a process whereby a person's immune system is coaxed into recognizing and destroying malignant cells without harming normal cells. A cancer vaccine is generally considered an immunotherapy, because, unlike prophylactic vaccines against diseases such as polio, influenza, and tuberculosis, a cancer vaccine is not preventive and must be administered after cancerous cells develop. Note that the HPV vaccine and the Hepatitis B vaccine are not cancer vaccines as described above. It works by preventing infection by the HPV thereby reducing the occurrence of cervical cancer, not by coaxing the body into recognizing and destroying malignant cells. A scanning electron microscope image of a single neutrophil (yellow), engulfing anthrax bacteria (orange). ...
Immunotherapy is a form of medical treatment based upon the concept of modulating the immune system to achieve a therapeutic goal. ...
Poliomyelitis (polio), or infantile paralysis, is a viral paralytic disease. ...
Influenza, commonly known as flu, is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by an RNA virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses). ...
Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease that is caused by mycobacteria, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ...
Human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) is a vaccine designed to immunize against certain sexually transmitted diseases, such as cervical cancer and genital warts, which are caused by human papillomaviruses. ...
Hepatitis B is an inflammation of the liver and is caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV), a member of the Hepadnavirus family[1] and one of hundreds of unrelated viral species which cause viral hepatitis. ...
HPV redirects here. ...
Cervical cancer is a malignancy of the cervix. ...
Problems
A vaccine against a particular virus is relatively easy to create. The virus is foreign to the body, and therefore will express antigens the immune system can recognize. Furthermore, there are usually only a few viable variants of the virus in question. It is very hard to develop vaccines for viruses that mutate constantly such as influenza or HIV. An antigen is a molecule that stimulates an immune response. ...
A scanning electron microscope image of a single neutrophil (yellow), engulfing anthrax bacteria (orange). ...
Influenza, commonly known as flu, is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by an RNA virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses). ...
Species Human immunodeficiency virus 1 Human immunodeficiency virus 2 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS, a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections). ...
A tumour can have many different types of cells in it, each with different cell-surface antigens. Furthermore, those cells are derived from the individual with cancer, and therefore display few if any antigens that are foreign to that individual. This makes it difficult for the immune system to distinguish the cancer cells from normal cells. Renal cancer and melanoma are the two cancers with most evidence of causing spontaneous and effective immune responses, possibly because they often display antigens that are recognized as foreign. Therefore, many attempts at developing cancer vaccines are directed against these tumors. Renal cell cancer is the most common form of kidney cancer. ...
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. ...
However, most clinical trials investigating a cancer vaccine against melanoma and renal cancer have failed. The precise reasons are unknown, but possible explanations include:
1) disease stage being treated was too advanced (it is difficult to get the immune system to fight bulky tumor deposits, the most suitable stage for a cancer vaccine is likely to be minimal residual disease)
2) escape loss variants (cancer vaccines that target just one tumor antigen are likely to be less effective. Tumors are highly heterogenous and antigen expression differs markedly between tumors (even within deposits in the same patient). The most effective cancer vaccine is likely to raise an immune response against a broad range of tumor antigens to minimise the chance of the tumor being able to mutate and become resistant to the therapy.)
3) prior treatments (numerous clinical trials in the past have treated patients who have received numerous cycles of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is often myelosuppressive and destroys the immune system. There is little point giving a cancer vaccine to a patient who is immune suppressed).
Drug Development Most of the cancer vaccines in development are addressing specific cancer types and are therapeutic vaccines. Several cancer vaccines are currently in development by companies such as Genitope Corp (MyVax personalized immunotherapy), Onyvax Limited[1] (Onyvax-P), Geron Corporation (GRNVAC1), Favrille Inc (FavId), Dendreon Corp (Provenge), Cell Genesys Inc (GVAX),Advaxis, Inc (Lovaxin C),Accentia Biopharmaceuticals majority owned subsidiary Biovest International [BiovaxID] and GeneMax Corp (GMXX) . Geron Corporation is a biotechnology company founded by Dr. Michael West that is based in Menalo Park, California. ...
Dendreon is a Seattle based biotechnology company. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards and conform with our NPOV policy, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
See also Cancer Immunotherapy is the use of monoclonal antibodies (-mab) to specifically target cells. ...
External Links - Cancer Vaccine Fact Sheet from National Cancer Institute
Development: Models - Timeline - Toxoid - Trial Vaccination is the process of administering weakened or dead pathogens to a healthy person or animal, with the intent of conferring immunity against a targeted form of a related disease agent. ...
A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to establish immunity to a disease. ...
A child being immunized against polio. ...
Inoculation, originally Variolation, is a method of purposefully infecting a person with smallpox (Variola) in a controlled manner so as to minimise the severity of the infection and also to induce immunity against further infection. ...
Vaccine topics 2000 Simpsonwood CDC conference AIDS vaccine Andrew Wakefield Edward Jenner Edward Yazbak Generation Rescue Genetics Immunization Immunology Inoculation MMR vaccine Safe Minds Timeline of vaccines Vaccination Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System Vaccine controversy Vaccines and Fetal Tissue ...
Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine. ...
It is possible to model mathematically the progress of most infectious diseases to discover the likely outcome of an epidemic or to help manage them by vaccination. ...
Timeline of vaccines This is a timeline of the development of prophylactic vaccines. ...
A toxoid is a bacterial toxin whose toxicity as been weakened or supressed while other properties, typically immunogenicity, are maintained. ...
I am an elf. ...
Administration: ACIP - GAVI - VAERS - Vaccination schedule - VSD The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) consists of fifteen advisors to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), selected by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, to provide advice and guidance on the most effective means to prevent diseases through nation-wide vaccination campaigns. ...
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization is an alliance between various UN organizations, national governments, private foundations, NGOs and the pharmaceutical industry. ...
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is a United States program for vaccine safety, co-sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ...
Over the past two decades, the recommended vaccination schedule in the United States and elsewhere has grown rapidly and become more complicated as many new vaccines have been developed and marketed. ...
The Vaccine Safety Datalink Project (VSD) was established, in 1990, by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the study of adverse side effects of vaccines. ...
Specific vaccines: Anthrax - BCG - Cancer - DPT - Flu - HIV - HPV - MMR - Pneumonia - Polio - Smallpox An apparatus (4-5 cm length, with nine short needles) used for BCG vaccination in Japan. ...
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Model of Influenza Virus from NIH The flu vaccine is a vaccine to protect against the highly variable influenza virus. ...
An HIV vaccine is a hypothetical vaccine against HIV, the etiological agent of AIDS. As there is no known cure for AIDS, the search for a vaccine has become part of the struggle against the disease. ...
Human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) is a vaccine designed to immunize against certain sexually transmitted diseases, such as cervical cancer and genital warts, which are caused by human papillomaviruses. ...
The MMR vaccine is a mixture of live attenuated viruses, administered via injection for immunization against measles, mumps and rubella. ...
Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV), also known as Pneumovax, is a vaccine used to prevent Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) infections such as pneumonia and septicaemia. ...
Two polio vaccines are used throughout the world to combat polio. ...
The smallpox vaccine is the only effective preventive treatment for the deadly smallpox disease. ...
Controversy: A-CHAMP - Anti-vaccinationists - NCVIA - Pox party - Safe Minds - Simpsonwood - Thiomersal controversy - Vaccine injury The vaccine controversy encompasses many issues over the benefits and risks of vaccines. ...
Advocates for Childrens Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning (A-CHAMP), is a United States political activism group, founded by parents, which advocates on behalf of children who were injured by mercury in thimerosal-containing vaccines, and other toxins. ...
Anti-vaccinationists are those who oppose the practice of vaccination. ...
The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986 (42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-1 to 300aa-34) was enacted in the United States to reduce the potential financial liability of vaccine makers due to vaccine injury claims. ...
A pox party is a normal party for children organised by parents whose kids have the chicken pox. ...
The Coalition for Safe Minds (Sensible Action For Ending Mercury-Induced Neurological Disorders) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to investigating the risks of exposure to mercury from medical products. ...
The 2000 Simpsonwood CDC conference was a meeting convened in June, 2000, by the Centers for Disease Control, held at the isolated Simpsonwood Methodist retreat and conference center in Norcross, Georgia. ...
In recent years, it has been suggested that thimerosal in childhood vaccines could contribute to or cause neurodevelopmental disorders in children (most notably autism, as well as other disorders within the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) category and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)). The basis for this claim is the introduction...
Vaccine injury is a term used in both medicine and law to designate alleged injuries sustained by individuals subsequent to having been vaccinated. ...
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