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Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise
Colorectal disease spreads more slowly in immunized mice
By Lev Weinstein
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Posted Jun 24, 08 5:11 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Encouraging results in experiments on mice are raising hopes of an effective colon cancer vaccine, Reuters reports. Capitalizing on the fact that the intestines have their own immune system, researchers isolated a protein that occurs only in the gut to create a vaccine. In treated mice, an average of three tumors appeared in the lungs or liver. In unvaccinated mice, the number was 30.
"We think this identifies a novel class of vaccine candidate targets for tumors that originate and metastasize from mucosa, like colorectal cancer," wrote the lead researcher.