Cancer is one of those words that you never want to mention... Today, that may be different. This article is stating that the FDA finally approved a Cancer treatment that will be given intravenously. The vaccine is designed for men that have advanced prostate cancer and who have limited treatment options. As with everything, they must also meet the eligibility requirements to be given this treatment.
Provenge is the name of this vaccine. It triggers the patients own immune system to attack cancer cells. RPCI, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, patients who are eligible to receive Provenge will have immune cells purified from their blood which will take place at the American Red Cross headquarters in Buffalo. The immune cells will then be shipped to a central lab and that is where they will be combined with an antigen, a specific protein, that stimulates the person's own immune cells to recognize and kill prostate cancer cells. This right here is amazing to think about this process. The vaccine is custom created for each patient and will be shipped back to RPCI which is when they will admisister the vaccine intravenously. The patient will receive three doses that are given two weeks apart from eachother.
They say that because the vaccine is the patients own immune cells that there is no serious allergic reactions but there is the possibility to have fever and flu like symptoms.
I choose this article because I thought that it was amazing. Cancer is one of the biggest and worst diseases that people are fighting and scientists are fighting to find a cure. To hear that they have a start like this to possibly cure prostate cancer is just great.
Do you guys think that this is true? Do you think that this vaccine actually works?
If you want to read more about it go to...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/216588.php
Well it makes sense that the side effects would be milder since it's the person's immune system fighting the cancer cells. My question is whether or not it will be effective on other types of cancer. Also, what is the success rate? Have their been actual people who have been helped?
ReplyDeleteThis definitely sounds promising, but there may be some roadblocks during development. The part about custom making it for each patient in particular sounds like it would make mass treatment difficult. Still, if this works, or even just helps in conjunction with other treatments, it will be great.
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