Cancer is a formidable opponent of humans. The many-headed monster has so many faces that it seems almost impossible to eradicate the disease completely. The current arsenal against cancer, operations, chemo and radiation is often insufficient. Scientists are therefore working hard on a new weapon: the cancer vaccine. Will we be able to be vaccinated against cancer in a few years? Probably. In fact, it is already happening. The current approach against cancer is too often unsuccessful. Even after centuries of research, we still don’t know what the ideal remedy is. When possible, the tumor is removed, followed by radiation and chemotherapy to remove any remaining cancer cells. However, some tumors and metastases are often difficult to remove. That is why scientists are working on a new treatment: the cancer vaccine.

Vaccine

Vaccines have been successful against diseases and viruses for some time. It usually consists of a weakened virus or a particle of bacteria. When a vaccine is introduced into your body, the immune system is alarmed. This ensures that the immune army of killer cells is ready to fight the real virus or bacteria as soon as it invades.

Causative agent

More and more scientists are discovering that many types of cancer are caused by viruses and bacteria. For example, the biggest cause of stomach cancer is the bacterium Heliobacter pylori. A virus is also the culprit in certain forms of cervical, anal and penile cancer. This concerns the human papillomavirus (HPV). This virus also causes certain venereal diseases and warts. The first thing the virus does is switch off the genes that regulate cell division. This causes growths, such as warts, which are unpleasant but harmless.

Dangerous HPV

However, HPV exists in different variants, including viruses that are dangerous. The dangerous variant not only switches off the gene that regulates cell division, but also the cell that repairs errors in the genes. Over time, cancer develops.As many as 70% of all cases of cervical cancer are caused by the dangerous HPV variant. Because vaccines mainly work against bacteria and viruses , they can also be used against the HPV virus. There is now a vaccine for cervical cancer. As early as 2009, girls and women were vaccinated preventively against cervical cancer. Not everyone agreed with this collective vaccination and the wildest conspiracy theories were doing the rounds. Unjustified according to the researchers because it simply works.

Therapeutic vaccine

It is important that the person to be vaccinated is not yet infected with the virus. There is now a so-called therapeutic vaccine for those who are already infected with HPV. The aim of this vaccine is not so much to warn the immune system preventively, but to actually give it a boost and make it take action.In particular, cancers caused by viruses or bacteria are expected to be preventable in the future with a simple injection. But is this drug also suitable against the other 80% of cancers caused by toxins – such as cigarette smoke or asbestos – or by old age? Scientists expect that these types of cancer will largely also be treatable with vaccines in the future.

Dormant tumor

Research shows that cancer cells sometimes lead a dormant existence in a human body for years. Without becoming active. Because these cancer cells have been present in the body for a longer period of time, the immune system has become accustomed to them. To combat these dormant tumors, the immune system could use a boost. It actually needs to be woken up. A vaccine can provide that boost.Vaccines are also in the making for these other forms of cancer. During investigations it turned out that there are few updates. Skin cancer patients only became a bit pale. But that was a good sign. The vaccine had boosted the immune system to such an extent that it even attacked normal pigment cells.

Radiation, chemo

The vaccine is mainly intended as a preventive measure. Once ill, the injection will not completely replace old methods such as radiation and chemo. Scientists do expect that chemotherapy will become less severe and long-lasting for patients. The vaccine will clear up the last malignant cells.