Professor Tim Elliott, Director of the Centre for Cancer Immunology, University of Southampton, comments on a story about a paper, published in Nature, which describes a vaccine to fight skin cancer.
He said: “Previous attempts to stimulate anticancer immunity with vaccines has proved difficult in humans but this study offers new hope. Using a novel nanoparticle vaccine that mimics a viral infection, the Mainz group was able to get the body’s most potent immune-sentinels to drive a strong attack on well-established tumours in mice and also in three patients with melanoma. Although this number is small, a larger clinical trial is underway with partners including the Centre for Cancer Immunology at the University of Southampton, which will help evaluate this new approach and hopefully add a new weapon to the ever increasing immunotherapeutic armoury against cancer.”
The story was also covered in The Times here .
Read the full story in Nature here.