Time magazine has an excellent piece on recent research into why cancer vaccines fail.
Most cancer vaccines -- including those created for lymphoma -- use a mineral oil called IFA that is meant to jumpstart the immune system. However, the IFA tends to collect at the injection site, rather than traveling through the body. The T cells, which are the immune system cells that would fight the cancer, double back and attack the IFA, rather than seeking out and destroying the cancer cells.
The research tried to replace the IFA with a water-based ingredient that does not do as good a job at stimulating the immune system, but may make up for that by having more T cells work more efficiently.
It's fascinating how one small change might make a big difference, if a problem can be seen through a different pair of eyes.
As I've said before, I find the whole idea of a cancer vaccine to be particularly fascinating, mostly because I saw the excitement from Dr. C, the lymphoma specialist I saw soon after I was diagnosed. I've been watching the vaccines, particularly BioVaxID, for 5 years now, waiting for a breakthrough, maybe this is the start of one?
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