Cancer vaccines; promise becomes reality?
(Note: all the sources listed in the “Balanced” section)
The premise of harnessing the power of a patient’s immune system
to kill cancer cells is more than 100 years old. In 1891, Dr. William Coley, a
surgeon affiliated with the Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City,
developed an immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer based on bacterial
toxins. This was the first attempt to use a cancer vaccine. Today, Dr. Coley is
known as the “Father of Cancer Immunotherapy”.
The Birth of Cancer Vaccines – An Old Story Becomes New Again. After failing to save the life of an 18 years old woman with
sarcoma, a type of cancer, in the year 1891, Dr. Coley was affected deeply and
dedicated himself to find a cure for the disease. He found that sarcoma patients
concomitantly suffering from a skin bacterial infection known as erysipelas
(caused by group A streptococcus
bacteria), have undergone spontaneous regression of their cancers. Dr. Coley
thought that causing a bacterial infection could help combat cancer in these
patients. He injected the erysipelas germ into the tumor of a 35 years old man
suffering from head and neck cancer. The treatment worked. The first cancer
vaccine was born.
In
Recent Years, Results in Human Clinical Trials with Cancer Vaccines Have Been
Disappointing. Despite of the robust rationale behind the use of cancer vaccines
for the treatment of cancer, the long history behind this medical hypothesis,
the search for the “Holy Grail” (a curative cancer vaccine) has been elusive. Over
the last twenty years, cancer vaccines have been a disappointing segment of the
biotechnology sector for investors. Despite of the innate appeal of the idea of
using cancer vaccines as an effective weapon against cancer, the results of
late stage human clinical trials have been discouraging to scientists,
entrepreneurs and investors.