Vaccine to Fight Breast or Ovarian Cancer

Another small vaccine study found that women with breast or ovarian cancer responded positively to a special genetically-engineered poxvirus. The study included 26 women with metastatic cancer and did not have a control group. The women had already tried many treatments, but after getting the vaccine, called PANVAC, they survived longer than expected–on average, more than a year. Side effects from the vaccine included soreness at the injection site and other mild reactions. This vaccine may have applications in many other cancers, especially if it can be targeted to an individual’s tumor cells.

[Clinical Cancer Research, Nov. 8, 2011]