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The Petri Dish: Vaccines the next frontier in fighting cancer
Summit Daily News
The Petri Dish: Vaccines the next frontier in fighting cancer | SummitDaily.com
Summit Daily News
In previous articles, I have focused on vaccines as a highly effective public health tool in the battle against infectious disease. What may be less obvious is that vaccines can also be developed that harness the immune system to control cancer. While anti-cancer vaccines are less advanced than traditional vaccines against infectious disease, recent scientific breakthroughs are offering considerable hope for the future.
Cancer vaccines fall into two major categories. The first category acts against cancers that are caused by infectious agents, such as viruses. One such example is the human papilloma virus, which can sometimes cause cervical cancer. A recently developed vaccine against this virus prevents infection and the subsequent incidence of cervical cancer. Another example is the hepatitis B vaccine, which prevents infection by the hepatitis B virus and reduces the incidence of certain liver cancers. Several other infection-related cancers may also succumb to this strategy. Unfortunately, the cancers that can be controlled by this type of vaccine are relatively few.
The Petri Dish: Vaccines the next frontier in fighting cancer | SummitDaily.com