On the Horizon: a Vaccine for Melanoma?

Source: American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting 2009, Orlando

An experimental vaccine study has shown recent promise in the treatment of melanoma, an often aggressive cancer of the skin. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer with a projected annual rate of death estimated at 8,650 patients this year alone.

The study combines the vaccine with interleukin-2 (IL-2), the standard in treatment of melanoma. The idea is to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells, much like a typical vaccine would for a common virus. How cool is that?

Okay, there’s always a “but.” In this case a large one. (mature blogger, I know). The study was of only 185 patients. Tumors actually shrank in only 22% of patient’s given the vaccine plus IL-2. IL-2 alone had a 10%. The vaccine was also said to delay cancer growth from 1 and 1/2 months with just IL-2 to almost 3 months with the vaccine combo.

Not exactly earth shattering but then, not exactly worth ignoring either. Perhaps in the future we will have cancer curing vaccines. Yes, before those flying cars and domestic robots we were all supposed to have by now.

posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esq.