The Change Mariner

Lung Cancer Vaccine Study Produces 'Exciting' Results

Scotsman.com News:

A leading British scientist today hailed pioneering new research into lung cancer as "promising and exciting."

Dr Richard Sullivan, Head of Clinical Programmes for UK Cancer Research said an experimental vaccine that wiped out lung cancer in some patients in the US was "encouraging."

The three-year experiment was carried out on 43 lung cancer sufferers by researchers at Baylor University Medical Centre, Dallas.

Each patient had cells from their tumours injected into their arm and leg every two weeks for three months during the experiment.

A gene called CM-CSF was placed into the cancer cells to change the surface of the cells to help the body identify them as cancerous.

The body's immune cells soon began to recognise, attack and destroy the cancer cells in the lung.

The cancer disappeared in three of the 33 advanced stage patients, while in the rest, the disease remained stable.

For the 10 patients who were in the early stages of their cancer, the vaccine did not make much difference against the cancer.

Dr Sullivan said the vaccine was a breakthrough in the treatment of lung cancer which can be very difficult to treat.

Posted by Bob King at February 19, 2004 05:56 PM | TrackBack
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