Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
A Vaccine for Lung Cancer
961 A Vaccine For Lung Cancer
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr David Niesel.
And I’m Dr. Norbert Herzog.
Despite a drop in smoking, the number of new lung cancer cases continues to climb. It’s among the more deadly cancers with more Americans dying from it than any other cancer.
Fortunately, a new vaccine to treat lung cancer is being tested. There are two main types of lung cancer, non-small cell and small cell
So how does this cancer vaccine work? Even though our immune cells recognize and kill abnormal cancer cells, they may not get all of them. Cancer cells are good at evolving to escape immune detection. If the tumor gets too large, the immune system can’t eliminate it.
However, the new vaccine can enhance this immune response through messenger RNA or mRNA. They’re naturally made in the cell nucleus, leave with a blueprint for making proteins, and head to the ribosomes which read and translate them into proteins.
The vaccine delivers lab-made mRNAs with lung cancer antigens that teach the immune system to recognize and attack lung cancer cells.
The BNT-one-sixteen vaccine, as it is called, won’t replace standard treatments, especially at late stages. It will complement surgery, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy.
A clinical trial is happening at three dozen sites across seven countries. Over one hundred patients are receiving weekly shots for six weeks and then intermittent shots for about a year to see how well the vaccine works.
The hope is that it’ll be effective in the early stages and lower the chance of recurrence. Improving both would help save many lives.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.comor subscribe to our podcast. Sign up for expanded print episodes at www.illuminascicom.com
