Anti-cancer vaccine developed by UGA researchers

By Joel Provano

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Researchers from the University of Georgia have developed a vaccine that has shown promising results against cancer, the UGA News Service is reporting.

The vaccine dramatically reduced the size of tumors in laboratory mice and was particularly successful against breast and pancreatic tumors, two of the deadliest forms of cancer, the researchers reported.

"This vaccine elicits a very strong immune response," UGA researcher Geert-Jan Boons wrote. "It activates all three components of the immune system to reduce tumor size by an average of 80 percent."

The vaccine trains the immune system to distinguish and attack cancer cells based on their different chemical structures, said Sandra Gendler, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, which was also involved in the research.

"We are beginning to have therapies that can teach our immune system to fight what is uniquely found in cancer cells," Boons said. "When combined with early diagnosis, the hope is that one day cancer will become a manageable disease."

After further testing in the laboratory, clinical testing could begin in 2013, the researchers said.