Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed a vaccine called OvarianVax, which can trick the immune system into detecting and destroying malignant cells in the earliest stages of ovarian cancer. This is reported by Cancer Research UK, a British cancer research organization.
Ovarian cancer is considered one of the most dangerous forms of cancer among women. According to statistics, two-thirds of patients die within a year of their diagnosis.
Approximately 7,500 new cases of the disease are diagnosed in the UK each year, making it the sixth most common cancer among women in the country.
As part of the fight against this disease, British scientists have developed the OvarianVax vaccine. They analyzed the proteins found in the early stages of cancer cells and identified those that best activate the immune system and effectively destroy tumor cells under laboratory conditions. The OvarianVax vaccine targets these proteins and ‘teaches’ the immune system to fight cancer on its own.
The scientific team noted that OvarianVax’s mechanism of action is similar to that of the human papillomavirus vaccine, which is expected to help in eradicating cervical cancer.
Currently, laboratory research is in its final stage. Once completed, the scientists will proceed to human clinical trials. They plan to test the vaccine first on women at high genetic risk for ovarian cancer.
