Cancer vaccine ‘success’ in trials

A VACCINE which boosts immune systems has proved almost twice as effective at prolonging the lives of women with advanced ovarian cancer than rival treatments.

Participants in US trials were found to be much more likely to be alive two years later.

The vaccine activated “dendritic cells” which had been exposed to tumours – enabling them to “train” the immune system to recognise and attack cancerous cells.

Prof Janos Tanyi, of Pennsylvania University, said “The two-year survival of the cohort who received the full combination [of the vaccine and other drugs] was promising.”