UCPVax, another vaccine track
Developed at the University of Franche-Comté, UCPVax neutralizes telomerase, the enzyme that makes cancer cells immortal. It is then impossible for the tumors to replicate ad libitum. 80% of lung cancer patients treated with this experimental vaccine triggered a satisfactory immune response, with improved survival for half of them. For its part, the Harvard Medical School is working on a treatment for glioblastoma, a dreaded brain cancer. It involves using cancer cells to turn them into mares of Troyes, cancer killers. ” Living tumor cells have the ability to travel long distances through the brain but eventually return to their original home with the other tumor cells” explain the authors in the review Science Translational Medicine. Once back in their original home, these modified cells focus on killing other cancer cells “. For now, it works on mice with higher animal survival and better long-term immunity.
