Scientists say cancer vaccine 'blocks' tumour growth if given 'at right time'

A cancer vaccine could block tumour progression if given at an early stage of the treatment cycle, a new scientific study has found.

The vaccine had little success in clinical trials for patients with advanced tumours but the new research concluded that it could achieve its intended result if administered earlier - when the lesions are at an early stage.

The study by Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee, differed from most cancer vaccine studies, which have focused on patients with advanced tumours. Results of the research, published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, revealed that tumour-specific T cell populations are present in mice with early-stage lesions and can be therapeutically exploited by vaccination, ecancer reports. Mice with advanced tumours do not retain these cells, the study found.

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T cells, a type of white blood cell, develop from stem cells in the bone marrow and are part of the immune system. They help protect the body from infection and may help fight cancer.

With the development and widespread use of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, there is increasing excitement about the use of personalised vaccines to treat and prevent cancer. The new study’s senior author Mary Philip, MD, PhD, associate director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation, said the findings supported further vaccine investigation to make long-term, progression-free survival a reality for more cancer patients.

“Our study suggests that the timing of vaccination is important,” said Philip. “A unique feature of our study is that these mice are at high, essentially 100% risk of developing