Scientists have long argued that if we survive the myriad of other diseases, the one that will surely kill us is cancer. Mostly, this is because cancer is very tough to beat since the treatments are often so tough on the body that a patient must also survive those, in addition to surviving the cancer.
But we’re closer than ever to a cure for cancer. In fact, researchers in Israel have developed a therapeutic vaccine that could be available in six years to administer to patients to treat cancer, as well as prevent the disease from recurring. The vaccine is currently being tested to treat a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma, and if the treatment is successful, then it could also be applied to 90% of all known cancers.
While traditional vaccines work to protect the body’s immune system from invaders like bacteria or viruses, therapeutic vaccines work more like a drug. This cancer vaccine, known as ImMucin developed by the Israel-based company Vaxil, activates the immune system by training T-cells, or the immune cells that seek out and destroy cells that display a certain marker called MUC1. More than 90% of cancer cells carry the MUC1 marker, making this vaccine a very promising solution to treat many different forms of cancer. The best part of the treatment is that there are no side effects as with traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy. The company is also working on a vaccine to treat tuberculosis, which is a disease that is spreading worldwide—even in the developed world. Currently, treatments for tuberculosis are expensive and treatment is problematic.
