The link between vaccinations and combatting cancer has been long-established and incorporated into modern medical practice. Currently, the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine confers protection against the development of cervical, anal, vaginal, and vulvar cancers (learn more about the vaccine and its uses here) [1]. The Hepatitis B vaccine also prevents liver cancer that can arise from infection [2]. Both viruses can make cells in these tissues replicate abnormally and eventually develop into cancer, and the vaccines prompt the host’s immune system to create antibodies against the virus before this happens. However, the novelty in the current cancer vaccines arises from their use to treat existing cancers instead of just preventing them.
Treating cancers by exploiting their characteristics is not a new approach. Immunotherapy, the modification of a person’s immune system to target cancer cells, has been a concept used since the late 1800s. Dr. William B. Coley, considered the father of immunotherapy, helped induce cancer remission in a few cancer subtypes by injecting patients with certain bacteria in 1891 (see a more historical background here) [3]. Though the mechanism was not understood at the time, this method primed immune systems to help combat cancer. Due to safety concerns, oncologists in the early to mid-1900s lean more in favour of surgery and chemotherapy as cancer treatments. In the 1970s and 1980s, immunotherapy solidified itself once again as the immune cell subtypes were discovered and understood. During these years, the FDA approved six checkpoint inhibitors [4] – therapies that block the molecules in pathways that allow cancers to survive and proliferate.
Today, there are a few approved vaccines to treat cancer. The BCG tuberculosis vaccine (a bacterial invader) stimulates the immune system, successfully treating advanced bladder cancer [5]. A more personalized vaccine called Sipuleucel-T (Provenge®) [6] uses a patient’s trained dendritic cells (a type of cell of the adaptive immune system, more information in the post and video about the immune system) to find proteins overexpressed in prostate cancer cells and kill them.
Other vaccines are still in the clinical phase (for more information about the different phases of creating a vaccine, check out the post and video about this topic). The most recent cancer vaccine to make headlines in early June 2022 is a colon cancer immunotherapy drug called Dostarlimab which led to all 12 trial patients entering remission [7]. Even 6 months after treatment, the trial participants showed no sign of cancer, and no participants have yet needed to receive chemotherapy or surgery. While it is important to highlight that the number of people in this study is too small and with a particular subtype of colon cancer, this study does represent an important step in cancer treatment customization.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic and the development of mRNA vaccines, many researchers are studying how this technology can be applied to cancer treatment. Stay tuned for next week’s post where we delve into this new application of mRNA vaccine.
Click here for more information about current cancer immunotherapy clinical trials, and here to read more about the different types of immunotherapy treatments.
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Written by: Dominique
Edited by: María
BioDecoded is a volunteer group committed to sharing accurate scientific information. For more information about vaccines and their safety profile, please see previous posts or consult with your personal physician. If you have any questions about this topic, please comment or send them to our email.
References:
Roden, R., Stern, P. Opportunities and challenges for human papillomavirus vaccination in cancer. Nat Rev Cancer 18, 240–254 (2018). Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrc.2018.13#citeas
Das S, Ramakrishnan K, Behera SK, Ganesapandian M, Xavier AS, Selvarajan S. Hepatitis B Vaccine and Immunoglobulin: Key Concepts. J Clin Transl Hepatol. 2019;7(2):165-171. Available at:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6609845/
Dobosz P, Dzieciątkowski T. The Intriguing History of Cancer Immunotherapy. Front Immunol. 2019;10:2965. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6928196/
Hargadon KM, Johnson CE, Williams CJ. Immune checkpoint blockade therapy for cancer: An overview of FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibitors. Int Immunopharmacol. 2018;62:29-39. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29990692/
Lamm DL, Morales A. A BCG success story: From prevention of tuberculosis to optimal bladder cancer treatment. Vaccine. 2021;39(50):7308-7318. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34417051/
Thara E, Dorff TB, Pinski JK, Quinn DI. Vaccine therapy with sipuleucel-T (Provenge) for prostate cancer. Maturitas. 2011;69(4):296-303. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21621934/
Cercek A, et al. PD-1 blockade in mismatch repair–deficient, locally advanced rectal cancer: Nejm. New England Journal of Medicine. Available at: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2201445.
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