Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, killing over 48,000 people worldwide each year. During the 2010s, attempts were made to develop an implantable vaccine to treat the condition. In preclinical trials, 50 percent of mice treated with two doses of the vaccine – animals that would otherwise have died from melanoma within about 25 days – showed complete tumour regression. The Phase I study involving humans was completed in 2015 with similar success. By the end of this decade, after subsequent phases and approval by the FDA, it is available to the wider public.
A small, disc-like sponge – about the size of a fingernail and made from a biodegredable polymer – is implanted under the skin. This contains growth factors and components designed to activate and reprogram a patient's own immune cells "on site". By controlling their biology, it can instruct the immune cells to patrol the body and hunt for cancer cells, killing them. Although initially designed to target cancerous melanoma in skin, this method has potential in treating many other types of cancer. It also helps to lower the cost of cancer treatments, by shifting vaccine production from the laboratory to directly within a patient's own body.
No comments:
Post a Comment