New vaccine 'could wipe out' ovarian cancer
The world's first vaccine to treat ovarian cancer could eradicate the disease, experts have said.
Scientists at the University of Oxford are working on a vaccine named OvarianVax, which teaches your immune system to recognise and attack ovarian cancer in its earliest stages. Charity Cancer Research is funding the study with up to £600,000 over the next three years.
The aim is to give the jab preventatively to women on the NHS. Researchers have suggested that the vaccine could work in a similar way to the humanpapillomavirus (HPV) jab, which has significantly reduced rates of cervical cancer.
Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford are working out which cells to target. They will use the vaccine to teach the immune system to identify over 100 proteins on the surface of ovarian-cancer cells, called tumour-associated antigens. They will also see how effectively the vaccine kills miniature, lab-based models of ovarian cancer.
Next, they will perform human clinical trials in people with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations – which significantly raise the risk of ovarian cancer – and in healthy women. Once these stages have been completed, experts can then decide whether the vaccine is safe for general administration.
According to Professor Ahmed Ahmed, director of the ovarian cancer cell laboratory at Oxford's Institute of Molecular Medicine, As for whether he thought the new treatment could completely erase ovarian cancer, he said: 'Absolutely – that would be the aim. We still have a long way to go but...I’m very optimistic.'
Women with BRCA mutations are advised to have their ovaries removed by the age of 35, preventing them from having children and subjecting them to an early menopause. The vaccine could save them from undergoing this procedure.
Ovarian cancer occurs in the ovaries when abnormal cells begin to grow and divide in an uncontrolled manner, eventually forming a tumour. There are around 7,500 new cases in the UK every year, with BRCA mutations accounting for around 5-15%.
When will the vaccine be ready?
According to Professor Ahmed, it will still take 'many years' for the vaccine to become readily and widely available.
However, he added that some impact from the vaccine 'would hopefully be much sooner', even as early as 'four or five years on the healthy population'.
'I am optimistic because we are talking about preventing the very first few cancer cells that develop – and not trying to cure or treat or prevent the tumour coming back,' he added.
Cancer Research UK have described the work as an 'exciting step forward'.
Dr Claire Bromley, research information manager at Cancer Research UK, said to The Independent: 'A few decades ago, the idea of a cancer vaccine was science fiction. We’re moving into an area where cancer as a disease could become much more preventable... it is far much more of a reality.'
Speaking to the BBC, Dr David Crosby, head of prevention and early detection research at Cancer Research UK, said, 'At this stage, scientists are testing the best components to include in the vaccine, by first trialling it in the lab with samples taken from ovarian cancer patients.'
Currently, the main treatments for ovarian cancer are surgery, chemotherapy, hormone treatments and targeted medicines. There is no screening test, and the disease is often only diagnosed in its later stages, due to ambiguous symptoms such as loss of appetite and bloating.
Read now: 5 things to consider before getting a bob haircut
Related stories
Kate Middleton reveals she has completed chemotherapy
Increase in women being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
Cut through the noise and get practical, expert advice, home workouts, easy nutrition and more direct to your inbox. Sign up to the WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWSLETTER
You Might Also Like
