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What are Cancer Vaccines?

Vaccines Cheap Switzerland Jerseys , also called vaccinations, are medicines that help the body fight disease. They help train the immune system to recognize and destroy harmful substances. There are two types of cancer vaccines:
Prevention vaccines
Treatment vaccines
Cancer prevention vaccines
Doctors give cancer prevention vaccines to healthy people to keep certain cancers from developing. Like vaccines for the chicken pox or the flu, they protect the body from viruses that can cause disease. A person has to get the vaccine before the virus infects him or her. Otherwise Yann Sommer Switzerland Jersey , the vaccine won鈥檛 work.
There are three cancer prevention vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
Gardasil. The FDA approved Gardasil for people ages 9 to 26 to prevent:
Cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers in girls and women
Anal cancer in women and men
Genital warts in men and boys
The vaccine protects against the human papillomavirus (HPV). If the virus is long-lasting Xherdan Shaqiri Switzerland Jersey , it can cause the health conditions above. HPV can also cause other cancers the FDA hasn鈥檛 approved the vaccine for, such as oral cancer.
Cervarix. This vaccine also protects against HPV infection. The FDA approved it for the prevention of cervical cancer in girls and women ages 10 to 25.
Hepatitis B vaccine. The vaccine prevents hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Long-lasting infection with HBV can cause liver cancer.
Talk with your doctor about whether you should be vaccinated against HPV and HBV.


Cancer treatment vaccines
Cancer treatment vaccines, also called therapeutic vaccines Valon Behrami Switzerland Jersey , are a type of immunotherapy. The vaccines work to boost the body's natural defenses to fight a cancer. Doctors give treatment vaccines to people already diagnosed with cancer. The vaccines may:
Prevent the cancer from coming back
Destroy any cancer cells still in the body after other treatment
Stop a tumor from growing or spreading
How a cancer treatment vaccine works
Antigens are substances on the surface of cells that aren鈥檛 normally part of the body. The immune system attacks the antigens, usually getting rid of them. This leaves the immune system with a 鈥渕emory鈥?that helps it respond to those antigens in the future.
Cancer treatment vaccines boost the immune system's ability to recognize and destroy antigens. Often, cancer cells have certain molecules called cancer-specific antigens on their surface that healthy cells don鈥檛 have. When these molecules are given to a person Steve von Bergen Switzerland Jersey , the molecules act as antigens. Then, they stimulate the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells that have these molecules on their surface. Most cancer vaccines also contain adjuvants, which are substances that may help strengthen the immune response.
Most cancer treatment vaccines are only available through clinical trials Stephan Lichtsteiner Switzerland Jersey , which are research studies involving volunteers. However, in 2010, the FDA approved sipuleucel-T (Provenge) for men with metastatic prostate cancer Shani Tarashaj Switzerland Jersey , which means the cancer has spread from the prostate to other parts of the body. Sipuleucel-T is customized for each patient through a series of steps.
First, white blood cells are removed from the patient鈥檚 blood. White blood cells help the body fight infections and diseases.
Then the researcher modifies the white blood cells in a laboratory to recognize and target prostate cancer cells.
Next the modified cells are put back into the patient through a vein. This is similar to a blood transfusion. The modified cells teach the immune system to find and destroy prostate cancer cells.
Limitations of cancer treatment vaccines
Developing cancer treatment vaccines that work is hard because:
Cancer cells suppress the immune system. That鈥檚 how the cancer is able to develop and grow in the first place. Researchers are using adjuvants in vaccines to try to fix this problem.
Cancer cells develop from a person鈥檚 own healthy cells. As a result, the cancer cells may not 鈥渓ook鈥?harmful to the immune system. The immune system may ignore the cells instead of finding and destroying them.
Larger or more advanced tumors are hard to get rid of using only a vaccine. This is one reason why doctors often give patients cancer vaccines along with other treatments.
People who are sick or older can have weak immune systems. As a result Roman Burki Switzerland Jersey , their bodies may not be able to produce a strong immune response after vaccination. That limits how well a vaccine works. Also, some cancer treatments may damage a person鈥檚 immune system, limiting its ability to respond to a vaccine.
Because of these reasons Ricardo Rodriguez Switzerland Jersey , some researchers think cancer treatment vaccines may work better for smaller tumors or early-stage cancers.
Vaccines and clinical trials
Clinical trials are important for learning more about cancer vaccines. Researchers are testing vaccines for several cancers, including:
Bladder cancer. Researchers hope to better treat bladder cancer with vaccines. One study is testing the effectiveness of a vaccine made from a virus researchers modified to contain HER2 cells. These cells live on the surface of some bladder cancer tumors. The virus may help teach the immune system to find and destroy these tumor cells. Another study compares a standard bladder cancer therapy against standard therapy with a vaccine.
Brain tumors. There are many studies testing treatment vaccines aimed at certain molecules on the surface of brain tumor cells. Some focus on new brain cancer. Others focus on cancer that has come back, or recurred. Several of the studies include children and teens.
Breast cancer. Several studies are testing treatment vaccines Nico Elvedi Switzerland Jersey , given alone or with other therapies, in patients with breast cancer. Other researchers are working to get prevention vaccines into clinical trials.