Vaccine targets ovarian-cancer cells.By using a vaccine patterned after a protein fragment found on some malignant cells, scientists have been able to direct an immune response immune response n. An integrated bodily response to an antigen, especially one mediated by lymphocytes and involving recognition of antigens by specific antibodies or previously sensitized lymphocytes. against ovarian cancer ovarian cancer Malignant tumour of the ovaries. Risk factors include early age of first menstruation (before age 12), late onset of menopause (after age 52), absence of pregnancy, presence of specific genetic mutations, use of fertility drugs, and personal history of breast . The protein fragment, called NY-ESO-1, appears on the surface of tumor cells in about 40 percent of ovarian cancer cases, and also in some other cancers. In the new study, scientists at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute The Roswell Park Cancer Institute is a cancer research and treatment center located in Buffalo, New York. Founded in 1898 by Dr. Roswell Park, it was the first dedicated medical facility for cancer treatment and research in the United States. in Buffalo, N.Y., selected 18 patients who had ovarian cancers that were positive for NYESO-1. In most of the volunteers, the cancer had spread beyond the ovaries Ovaries The female sex organs that make eggs and female hormones. Mentioned in: Choriocarcinoma ovaries (ō´v . All the women had undergone chemotherapy, and their cancers were under control at the time they entered the study, says study coauthor Kunle Odunsi, a gynecologic oncologist Gynecologic oncologist A physician specializing in the treatment of cancers of the female reproductive tract. Mentioned in: Ovarian Cancer gynecologic oncologist at Roswell. The women received shots containing the NY-ESO-1 vaccine every 3 weeks for a period of 4 to 11 months between 2003 and 2005. After treatment, the women experienced no recurrence of ovarian cancer for an average of 19 months, Odunsi and his colleagues report in the July 31 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, usually referred to as PNAS, is the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences. . Following vaccination, most of the women's immune systems made cells primed to attack anything sporting NY-ESO-1. A few of the patients also developed antibodies against the protein fragment. Blood samples obtained up to 18 months after the treatments showed that the immune response was durable. "If the cancer begins to grow, the immune system is still ready to attack," Odunsi says. However, some patients relapsed when they formed tumors that didn't display- NY-ESO-1. Odunsi's team reports that 15 of the 18 patients are still alive and that seven remain free of ovarian cancer.--N.S. |
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