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They're trying to do a cancer vaccine, not treatment for those afflicted with cancer already
by wyxuan 6y ago
They're trying to do a cancer vaccine, not treatment for those afflicted with cancer already
- DarknessFalls 6y agoHow would a cancer vaccine work? A mRNA-based proofreader?
- alephnil 6y agoA cancer vaccine would work by priming the immune system to target the proteins that is mutated in the tumor cells, and killing the cells producing them. In fact, the body does this regularly. Cells frequently mutate to divide uncontrollably in the body, but are nearly always suppressed by the immune system. It is only when the tumor somehow manage to bypass the immune system or the immune system is sufficiently weakened that cancers can spread.
- leoedin 6y agoIt is a treatment for people with cancer. The mRNA cancer vaccine they're developing is for people who already have cancer. It's targeted based on the specific tumour the patient has, and basically primes the immune system to attack the cancer cells. They can't even develop the vaccine until the patient has the cancer it's fighting against.
- geeB 6y agoHow does this work? In the case of Covid, I understand (for some value of "understand") how they can make the cells create virus proteins, which then train the immune system without an actual infection to be ready for when the real virus strikes. But if someone already has cancer cells, wouldn't all the proteins to train against already be in the body in the first place?
- Tagbert 6y agoThe proteins are present but the immune system does not see them as “foreign”. The vaccine primes the immune system to see them as a foreign attacker.