Prostate Cancer Vaccine Cleared by FDA
The first vaccine to treat prostate cancer has been cleared by The Food and Drug Administration today. The approval marks the end of years of research to empower the immunity system to fight the tumours.
The vaccine known as Provenge is not a preventive medicine like polio shots that prevent viruses. As per research this vaccine help men with prostate cancer t live four months more compared to people who are given placebo shots. This is as per Philip Kantoff of Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, primary investigator of a study of 512 men.
32% of the men who were given provenge were found to be alive compared to the 23% who were given placebo shot. This is an improvement on the current longevity of patients who live approx 22 months. However, one in four Provenge patients tend to have a serious side effect of stroke compared to 2.6% of those on placebo. Comparatively docetexal helps people help survive 2.4 months longer.
Provenge has a unique way of working. Three shots of custom made shots are administered which is supposed to align the immune system to identify and kill malignant cells. “It's really a very exciting point in time," Kantoff says. "It's significant for prostate cancer patients. And it's exciting from the global standpoint of opening up a whole new area of research that people have been working on for many years." As per American Cancer Society more than 192,000 men are diagnosed with the disease every year.
However there has been a growing concern on the skyrocketing prices of cancer drugs and that the high prices of the cancer drugs might put it out of the reach for many patients. At the same time research is on towards the making another vaccine for prostate cancer along with breast cancer and melanoma.
