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I understand the "cancer vaccine" is actually an enormous simplification. There are certain cancer types that can be triggered by viruses, so a vaccine against

I understand the "cancer vaccine" is actually an enormous simplification. There are certain cancer types that can be triggered by viruses, so a vaccine against these viruses could prevent those particular cancer types. But giving the impression that a general vaccine against cancer is somewhere near seems very misleading.

bakuninsbart 5y ago
I'm completely out of my depth when it comes to medical research, but the way I understood the mRNA vaccines against cancer types was a bit more broader than what you suggest: Specific cancer cells produce unique proteins that can be targetted by a "vaccine", so as to enable the body to directly attack the mutated cells. I put vaccine in quotation mark, as it rather seems to be a type of mRNA therapy.
- kuhewa 5y ago
  Different approaches just like for prophylactic vaccines, in some cases it's just like an old-school vaccine where dead cells or protein antigen is presented, but yeah cancer vaccines are typically therapeutic rather than prophylactic.
kuhewa 5y ago
Usually what is meant by 'cancer vaccine' isn't the HPV or Hep.B vaccine where the target is the viral causative agent of cancer. They are typically therapeutic rather than prophylactic, inducing immunity against cancer-specific antigens to overcome the immune evasion mechanisms cancer cells use, tog get the relevant elements of the immune system to attack cancer cells directly. Several are already approved, but no one inn the know is saying that a cure-all cancer vaccine is around the corner, cancers are very diverse and the vaccine approach may only be applicable in very niche cases where cancer antigens are sufficiently different enough from normal proteins expressed by healthy cells — and just like targets of immunotherapy and chemotherapy, there's no promising that cancers won't evolve to overcome therapeutics.

bakuninsbart 5y ago

I'm completely out of my depth when it comes to medical research, but the way I understood the mRNA vaccines against cancer types was a bit more broader than what you suggest: Specific cancer cells produce unique proteins that can be targetted by a "vaccine", so as to enable the body to directly attack the mutated cells. I put vaccine in quotation mark, as it rather seems to be a type of mRNA therapy.

kuhewa 5y ago
Different approaches just like for prophylactic vaccines, in some cases it's just like an old-school vaccine where dead cells or protein antigen is presented, but yeah cancer vaccines are typically therapeutic rather than prophylactic.

kuhewa 5y ago

Usually what is meant by 'cancer vaccine' isn't the HPV or Hep.B vaccine where the target is the viral causative agent of cancer. They are typically therapeutic rather than prophylactic, inducing immunity against cancer-specific antigens to overcome the immune evasion mechanisms cancer cells use, tog get the relevant elements of the immune system to attack cancer cells directly. Several are already approved, but no one inn the know is saying that a cure-all cancer vaccine is around the corner, cancers are very diverse and the vaccine approach may only be applicable in very niche cases where cancer antigens are sufficiently different enough from normal proteins expressed by healthy cells — and just like targets of immunotherapy and chemotherapy, there's no promising that cancers won't evolve to overcome therapeutics.