Vaccines Health Article

Abnormal results

For each trial, there are a small percentage of patients who have complete, partial, or mixed response to the vaccine. Others show a stabilization of the disease where deterioration of condition would be expected. As traditional treatments were often unsuccessful with these patients, these results are significant. However, the very low rate of success underscores the complexity of the human immune system, the number of variables in the vaccine method, and the amount of research that will need to be done to develop an effective vaccine treatment for this disease.

See Also Monoclonal antibodies; Immunologic therapy

Resources

BOOKS

Restifo, Nicholas, et al. "Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines." InCancer Principles & Practice of Oncology, edited by DeVita, Vincent T., et al. Philadelphia: LippincottWilliams & Wilkins, 2001, pp. 3195-217.

PERIODICALS

Bocchia, Monica, et al. "Antitumor Vaccination: Where WeStand." Haematologica 85 (November 2000): 1172-206.

Monzavi-Karbassi, B., and T. Kieber-Emmons. "Current concepts in cancer vaccine strategies." Biotechniques 30 (January 2001): 170.

OTHER

"First Potential Universal Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise InLab." Science Daily Magazine. 30 August 2000. 12 April 2001. 28 June 2001 <http://www.sciencedaily.com/print/2000/08/000830073711.htm>.

"Treating Cancer with Vaccine Therapy." Cancer Trials. July 20, 1999. 12 April 2001. 28 June 2001.<http://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov/news/features/vaccine/index.html>.

Michelle Johnson, M.S., J.D.

Adjuvant

—A substance added to a vaccine to increase the immune system's response to the vaccine contents.

Allogeneic

—A type of vaccine made up of tumor cells derived from persons other than the patient.

Antigen

—A substance characteristic of a tumor that evokes an immune response.

Antigen presenting cell

—A cell of the immune system that ingests antigens and exposes them to cells of the immune system in a way that activates the cells to seek out and destroy any other cells displaying that antigen.