The latest drug to be approved by FDA was Boostrix for old-age diphtheria. Now, Mayo Clinic has obtained the Food and Drug Administration approval for two new cancer vaccines that seem to cause mobility for destroying morbid cells.
These medicines are unique in the sense that their objective is to prohibit cancer relapse. The approval allows Phase I clinical tests in women undergoing treatment for ovarian and breast cancer.
One of the vaccine aims at a protein that appears to be present in huge quantities in breast and ovarian cancer cells. It comprises of the folate receptor alpha protein that causes the body’s defense mechanism to identify and discard infected cells. The vaccine is touted to work with most of the patients, rather than sub-populations with specific kinds of cancer as it is naturally present in almost all such tumors. Knutson expresses his optimism that an early diagnosis, effective medication and vaccination may decrease the recurrence and malignancy associated with breast and ovarian cancers in the long run.
“People who’ve had cancer are at high risk for relapse, and later rounds of treatment can become more difficult. While most cancer vaccines to date have been developed to fight patients’ tumors, Knutson’s group is interested in immunizing patients immediately after therapy, when they’re healthy, to protect against relapse,†commented Mayo Clinic immunologist Keith Knutson, Ph.D., who developed the vaccines with colleagues at Mayo Clinic.
The second vaccine that received approval is formulated to be given after breast cancer patients have been through routine chemotherapy. It seemingly strikes the highly massive Her2 or neu.molecule. The latter is a protein that supports the progress of cancer cells.
As per Knutson, most women dread that their breast cancer will return. This vaccine could be a ray of hope to trigger cancer-fighting abilities of the immune system after the conventional treatments are over.