Immunity must respond not only to bacteria and viruses for cancer cells in our body at least a foreign element than external pathogens.
But quite often a malignant tumor can trick the immune system. Scientists have been trying to find a way to "play up" immunity of cancer patients to their defensive system awake and fully attacked by malicious cells.
Scientists from the University of Strasbourg (France) attempted to develop a vaccine against cancer, based on the virus. As with any other vaccine, it must "train" the immune system; only in this case, the immune system is not needed to show a half-dead infection (as with conventional vaccines), and the characteristics of cancer cells.
When malignant degeneration cell literally changing the face: on the surface appear specific proteins characteristic of cancer cells, and more for any other. That is, these proteins could be a good target for immunity.
In their experiments, researchers used a type of lung cancer, and to show the cancer cell surface protein immunity, was chosen one of poksvirusov. Among them there are, for example, the causative agent of smallpox, but in this case, the virus was harmless to humans - especially after a series of genetic manipulations. He was given a protein-cell lung cancer, and introduced with cancer. Strictly speaking, this virus was only a messenger, who reported to the cancer protein of immune cells, making it more visible to the immune system.
A total of 148 people participated, and half was subjected to conventional chemotherapy, the other held her own, but together with the modified virus. As the researchers write in the journal Lancet Oncology, vaccination had a positive effect. For those who received chemotherapy with a viral vaccine, six months after vaccination for the disease has stabilized. Cancer slowed by 43% compared with 35% in those treated by conventional therapy.
Ultimately, however, Smiles was not too much: the vaccine disease has stabilized, but did not change the overall picture of survival in patients with lung cancer. However, researchers believe they are on the right path and a way to make the immune system to work more vigorously against the cancer itself justify another. The action of the vaccine seems to have stopped half way, and now need to figure out why it happened.
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