The first prostate cancer vaccine could be a step away after ministers gave their approval for a human trial of a new genetically modified therapy.
The treatment, which uses viruses carrying human DNA to direct the body's natural defences against cancer cells, is the first prostate cancer vaccine ever to reach late stage “phase three” trials in Europe.
No vaccines have yet been approved in Britain to treat any type of cancer, and scientists believe it could not only double the survival rate of prostate cancer sufferers but give way to a new range of similar treatments for other tumour types.
The treatment, developed by Bavarian-Nordic Immunotherapeutics, is aimed at men with advanced prostate cancer which cannot be cured by castration and for whom treatment options are very limited.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men and mainly occurs in those over 50, with 36,000 new cases being diagnosed each year.
Researchers intend to conduct a full trial of the vaccine on about 30 patients across 10 British sites including Southampton and Surrey Universities, the Royal Marsden Hospital and a Cancer Research UK institute in Leeds .... Read more at http://www.telegraph.co.uk
