NZ Scientists Welcome FDA Cancer Vaccine OK

NZ Scientists Welcome FDA’s Approval of Cancer Vaccine

Approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the first therapeutic cancer vaccine will significantly boost efforts in New Zealand, Malaghan Institute scientists say.

Scientists at Wellington’s Malaghan Institute of Medical Research believe the approved vaccine Provenge — produced by the US-based Dendreon Corporation and specifically designed for treating certain forms of advanced prostate cancer — lends credibility to the therapeutic approach and will open more doors to further research in the field.

Malaghan Institute Director Professor Graham Le Gros says the Institute has already been investigating how to tailor make the dendritic cell vaccine so that it can be used to treat many forms of cancer.

“We have been working on developing a therapeutic dendritic cell cancer vaccine for the treatment of Melanoma and are currently trialling our own version of the vaccine for the treatment of patients with Glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive brain tumour.”

“Like Provenge, these therapeutic vaccines are given to a patient after their cancer has been detected. They therefore work differently to preventative vaccines such as those for influenza and the measles or the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, which are given to an individual to help stop them from getting sick.”

The therapeutic approach utilises components of the body’s own immune system to energise and focus an attack on the developing cancer. It holds several potential advantages over conventional cancer therapies in that there are less side-effects and the immune system can hunt down and kill the cancer cells that are normally drug resistant.

“The promise of using the immune system to treat cancer has always looked tantalisingly close, but to date the results have been sobering,” said Professor Le Gros. “I think now we should be able to redouble our efforts and boost the confidence of our supporters that it can actually happen.”

ENDS

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