Heard about the possible cancer vaccine????

Captain11
Captain11 Member Posts: 88
in Anal Cancer #1
While I was waiting for my hubby at the VA waiting room, I came across a Time magazine from 2011, discussing a possible vaccine for cancer treatment/prevention. It is of course in "trials" and mainly for breast cancer victims, at least that's what I remember reading. Has anyone else seen this or anything like it? Naturally, I don't have the article, so, I have incomplete details about the article.

To all of us here and our caregivers... God bless.

Comments

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #2
    Captain 11
    I tried to find this article online with no luck. There was one in Newsweek magazine a year or two ago.
  • Captain11
    Captain11 Member Posts: 88
    #3
    mp327 said:

    Captain 11
    I tried to find this article online with no luck. There was one in Newsweek magazine a year or two ago.

    I couldn't find it online,
    I couldn't find it online, either... and I was back at the VA today and the mag was gone. Now, I wish I could find it... it was really interesting and so full of hope. Take care and good luck on your marathon. I admire you. God bless.
  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #4
    Captain11 said:

    I couldn't find it online,
    I couldn't find it online, either... and I was back at the VA today and the mag was gone. Now, I wish I could find it... it was really interesting and so full of hope. Take care and good luck on your marathon. I admire you. God bless.

    Thank you!
    I appreciate the good wishes for my race!
  • AZANNIE
    AZANNIE Member Posts: 445 Member
    #5
    Captain11 said:

    I couldn't find it online,
    I couldn't find it online, either... and I was back at the VA today and the mag was gone. Now, I wish I could find it... it was really interesting and so full of hope. Take care and good luck on your marathon. I admire you. God bless.

    Vaccine
    I googled Time magazine and found the article about the vaccine. It mentioned breast and ovarian cancer. Maybe one of these days a vaccine will be found for all cancers!!!!
    Time magazine (November 8, 2011)
  • AZANNIE
    AZANNIE Member Posts: 445 Member
    #6
    AZANNIE said:

    Vaccine
    I googled Time magazine and found the article about the vaccine. It mentioned breast and ovarian cancer. Maybe one of these days a vaccine will be found for all cancers!!!!
    Time magazine (November 8, 2011)

    Link to vaccine article
    http://healthland.time.com/2011/11/08/experimental-vaccine-to-treat-breast-ovarian-cancer-shows-promise/
  • boneyjean
    boneyjean Member Posts: 2
    #7
    AZANNIE said:

    Link to vaccine article
    http://healthland.time.com/2011/11/08/experimental-vaccine-to-treat-breast-ovarian-cancer-shows-promise/

    I have been lurking here for
    I have been lurking here for awhile for my mom who has Anal Cancer and is on her third recurrence now and has been told it is incurable. When I saw this thread I had to join and post the info I have seen. I have gethered a lot of great info for her here to help me help her with her symptoms and feelings.

    We went last week to see if my mother was a candidate for any clinical trials. There are two. She starts one in a few weeks hopefully and then this vaccine one when it opens up to more people. I think what you guys are talking about is actually something that they said my mother is a candidate for and now on the waiting list for.

    here is the link to the one she would do:
    http://mccrc.clinisite.com/index.php?q=node/756

    This was my recap to family/friends from what I understood about it:

    The vaccine one shows a lot of promise. Apparently they have already run a trial of a drug very similiar to this. They said something about the companies owning stock in each other. One of the drugs has a natural component and one has a synthetic. The natural component one showed great response and this is the synthetic one they will trial next and they feel like it might show ever better response. Right now they are doing 1 person at a time and then they will open this one up to more people in a month or two. Apparently this one is working very well in people with colon and rectal tumors although I know they are also testing it on other solid tumors. We asked how well it was tolerated and they have only had one person test it so far at their location and he has pancreatic cancer and came in with a lot of side effects to start with and already had to pull out. They are about to start it on someone else though who doesn't have so many side effects and sounded very confident and hopeful that she would do well on it. It is some sort of immunotherapy.


    I hope this helps some!
  • Captain11
    Captain11 Member Posts: 88
    #8
    boneyjean said:

    I have been lurking here for
    I have been lurking here for awhile for my mom who has Anal Cancer and is on her third recurrence now and has been told it is incurable. When I saw this thread I had to join and post the info I have seen. I have gethered a lot of great info for her here to help me help her with her symptoms and feelings.

    We went last week to see if my mother was a candidate for any clinical trials. There are two. She starts one in a few weeks hopefully and then this vaccine one when it opens up to more people. I think what you guys are talking about is actually something that they said my mother is a candidate for and now on the waiting list for.

    here is the link to the one she would do:
    http://mccrc.clinisite.com/index.php?q=node/756

    This was my recap to family/friends from what I understood about it:

    The vaccine one shows a lot of promise. Apparently they have already run a trial of a drug very similiar to this. They said something about the companies owning stock in each other. One of the drugs has a natural component and one has a synthetic. The natural component one showed great response and this is the synthetic one they will trial next and they feel like it might show ever better response. Right now they are doing 1 person at a time and then they will open this one up to more people in a month or two. Apparently this one is working very well in people with colon and rectal tumors although I know they are also testing it on other solid tumors. We asked how well it was tolerated and they have only had one person test it so far at their location and he has pancreatic cancer and came in with a lot of side effects to start with and already had to pull out. They are about to start it on someone else though who doesn't have so many side effects and sounded very confident and hopeful that she would do well on it. It is some sort of immunotherapy.


    I hope this helps some!

    Hi, Boneyjean... Sorry you
    Hi, Boneyjean... Sorry you have to find us... good luck to your Mom... Thank you for jogging my memory on this article... It was about immunotherapy of a sort... they are developing a drug that attaches to T-cells, and then surrounds the cancer cells to choke them off. The vaccine contains the cancer-fighting organisms (which attack the cancer cells) and still remain in the body, so that if the cancer returns, this vaccine will still be intact to fight any new cells. At least that is what I recall from some of the article. Now I remember that the cover had Newt Gingrich on it... I will check the internet again for this article...

    At any rate, the news is promising...

    I wish the best for you and your Mom...

    Take care. Keep us posted. God bless.
  • sephie
    sephie Member Posts: 650 Member
    #9
    boneyjean said:

    I have been lurking here for
    I have been lurking here for awhile for my mom who has Anal Cancer and is on her third recurrence now and has been told it is incurable. When I saw this thread I had to join and post the info I have seen. I have gethered a lot of great info for her here to help me help her with her symptoms and feelings.

    We went last week to see if my mother was a candidate for any clinical trials. There are two. She starts one in a few weeks hopefully and then this vaccine one when it opens up to more people. I think what you guys are talking about is actually something that they said my mother is a candidate for and now on the waiting list for.

    here is the link to the one she would do:
    http://mccrc.clinisite.com/index.php?q=node/756

    This was my recap to family/friends from what I understood about it:

    The vaccine one shows a lot of promise. Apparently they have already run a trial of a drug very similiar to this. They said something about the companies owning stock in each other. One of the drugs has a natural component and one has a synthetic. The natural component one showed great response and this is the synthetic one they will trial next and they feel like it might show ever better response. Right now they are doing 1 person at a time and then they will open this one up to more people in a month or two. Apparently this one is working very well in people with colon and rectal tumors although I know they are also testing it on other solid tumors. We asked how well it was tolerated and they have only had one person test it so far at their location and he has pancreatic cancer and came in with a lot of side effects to start with and already had to pull out. They are about to start it on someone else though who doesn't have so many side effects and sounded very confident and hopeful that she would do well on it. It is some sort of immunotherapy.


    I hope this helps some!

    may i ask if the cancer showed up 3 times as anal cancer?? if so, did she get the same tx each time?? the info will help us. thx sephie
  • boneyjean
    boneyjean Member Posts: 2
    #10
    sephie said:

    may i ask if the cancer showed up 3 times as anal cancer?? if so, did she get the same tx each time?? the info will help us. thx sephie

    Sephie, here is my mom's
    Sephie, here is my mom's story:

    She was first diagnosed in October of 09. There was a tumor in her anus and many lymphnodes with possible spots on her lungs that might also be scar tissue from a bad case of pneumonia many years ago. She did 6 weeks of radiation and 2 rounds of chemo (5FU & Cisplatin) and came out cancer free. A little over a year later in February 11 it had returned. This time to my knowledge, there was no anal tumor, just lymph nodes in the same area as before and mention again of a spot on her lungs which they still thought could be scar tissue. This time the plan was to do 6-8 months of chemo (5FU & Cisplatin). After 3 rounds they did a scan and did not see the improvement they had hoped for so they switched her treatment to 6 weeks of radiation (IHMR I think?) and 2 more rounds of chemo (5FU & mitomycin). She finally got a clean scan at the end of 2011. That last round of radiation was killer on her. She ended up in the hospital for 3 weeks trying to get to stronger more stable state. There were a few times we thought we might lose her during those 3 weeks.

    In March 12, they told us it has returned again and is incurable. I was expecting them to tell us it was back because she was again having major pain with sitting. She has a tumor in her anus, many lymphnodes, including some in her neck this time and a spot on her lungs. At this point they don't feel she can do anymore radiation both because her body is already so damaged from it, and because of the lymphs in her neck and they can't radiate her entire body and chemo will be tricky because of her reduced kidney function. The goal is to give her quality of life and help extend life if she wants to fight it which she does. So we have looked into clinical trials and there were two that were a match. One is a pill that she will start soon hopefully, and the other is the vaccine mentioned above that she will hopefully start when they open it up to more people in the next few months.
  • radarbaby
    radarbaby Member Posts: 8
    #11
    Vaccine
    Here's the thing about vaccines; there won't be one vaccine for all cancers. The nature of each type of cancer is different and responds to different drugs and different treatments. In addition, each individual is a little different, etc. That doesn't mean there won't be a vaccine for different cancers that may help those with high risk or family histories. But I don't know that doctors will ever pile on the vaccinations in the hopes that it will prevent an individual from getting a disease. It is also possible that a drug or treatment will be developed (again, on an individual cancer type) that is more effective in the treatment of some cancers.

    If there is a trial that you or your loved one qualify for, especially if there is a recurrence, then by all means, go for it! I wish you well.
  • radarbaby
    radarbaby Member Posts: 8
    #12
    boneyjean said:

    Sephie, here is my mom's
    Sephie, here is my mom's story:

    She was first diagnosed in October of 09. There was a tumor in her anus and many lymphnodes with possible spots on her lungs that might also be scar tissue from a bad case of pneumonia many years ago. She did 6 weeks of radiation and 2 rounds of chemo (5FU & Cisplatin) and came out cancer free. A little over a year later in February 11 it had returned. This time to my knowledge, there was no anal tumor, just lymph nodes in the same area as before and mention again of a spot on her lungs which they still thought could be scar tissue. This time the plan was to do 6-8 months of chemo (5FU & Cisplatin). After 3 rounds they did a scan and did not see the improvement they had hoped for so they switched her treatment to 6 weeks of radiation (IHMR I think?) and 2 more rounds of chemo (5FU & mitomycin). She finally got a clean scan at the end of 2011. That last round of radiation was killer on her. She ended up in the hospital for 3 weeks trying to get to stronger more stable state. There were a few times we thought we might lose her during those 3 weeks.

    In March 12, they told us it has returned again and is incurable. I was expecting them to tell us it was back because she was again having major pain with sitting. She has a tumor in her anus, many lymphnodes, including some in her neck this time and a spot on her lungs. At this point they don't feel she can do anymore radiation both because her body is already so damaged from it, and because of the lymphs in her neck and they can't radiate her entire body and chemo will be tricky because of her reduced kidney function. The goal is to give her quality of life and help extend life if she wants to fight it which she does. So we have looked into clinical trials and there were two that were a match. One is a pill that she will start soon hopefully, and the other is the vaccine mentioned above that she will hopefully start when they open it up to more people in the next few months.

    boneyjean
    I am so sorry to hear of your mother's recurrences. It sounds as if it was rather late stage when they diagnosed it in the first place. This is not uncommon, unfortunately. If there is another tumor in the anus, I would ask why they don't at least remove that. It would be a very painful way to spend your last years on earth. Even if she ended up with a colostomy, it's better than being in such extreme pain. Of course, she may be fed up with ANY procedures at this point.

    It does sound grim, but see that she gets the best nutrition possible. Do some stretches with her to keep her moving. And make sure she has pain meds!

    This is the tough stuff of life. My heart goes out to you and your mother.

    Best wishes,
    Diane
  • sephie
    sephie Member Posts: 650 Member
    #13
    boneyjean said:

    Sephie, here is my mom's
    Sephie, here is my mom's story:

    She was first diagnosed in October of 09. There was a tumor in her anus and many lymphnodes with possible spots on her lungs that might also be scar tissue from a bad case of pneumonia many years ago. She did 6 weeks of radiation and 2 rounds of chemo (5FU & Cisplatin) and came out cancer free. A little over a year later in February 11 it had returned. This time to my knowledge, there was no anal tumor, just lymph nodes in the same area as before and mention again of a spot on her lungs which they still thought could be scar tissue. This time the plan was to do 6-8 months of chemo (5FU & Cisplatin). After 3 rounds they did a scan and did not see the improvement they had hoped for so they switched her treatment to 6 weeks of radiation (IHMR I think?) and 2 more rounds of chemo (5FU & mitomycin). She finally got a clean scan at the end of 2011. That last round of radiation was killer on her. She ended up in the hospital for 3 weeks trying to get to stronger more stable state. There were a few times we thought we might lose her during those 3 weeks.

    In March 12, they told us it has returned again and is incurable. I was expecting them to tell us it was back because she was again having major pain with sitting. She has a tumor in her anus, many lymphnodes, including some in her neck this time and a spot on her lungs. At this point they don't feel she can do anymore radiation both because her body is already so damaged from it, and because of the lymphs in her neck and they can't radiate her entire body and chemo will be tricky because of her reduced kidney function. The goal is to give her quality of life and help extend life if she wants to fight it which she does. So we have looked into clinical trials and there were two that were a match. One is a pill that she will start soon hopefully, and the other is the vaccine mentioned above that she will hopefully start when they open it up to more people in the next few months.

    so sorry
    my heart goes out to you both. what a horrific history. i know nothing about how Md Anderson treats it if only lymph nodes are involved in reoccurance after initial tx. i know if it returns to the anus after initial tx. they do colostomy . she has had so much tx. hope you can have a good time with each other. keep as pain free as possible. good luck with vaccine. hugs to you both sephie
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    #14
    radarbaby said:

    Vaccine
    Here's the thing about vaccines; there won't be one vaccine for all cancers. The nature of each type of cancer is different and responds to different drugs and different treatments. In addition, each individual is a little different, etc. That doesn't mean there won't be a vaccine for different cancers that may help those with high risk or family histories. But I don't know that doctors will ever pile on the vaccinations in the hopes that it will prevent an individual from getting a disease. It is also possible that a drug or treatment will be developed (again, on an individual cancer type) that is more effective in the treatment of some cancers.

    If there is a trial that you or your loved one qualify for, especially if there is a recurrence, then by all means, go for it! I wish you well.

    While colorectal differs from anal (so my focus is the former)
    nevertheless here's a relatively recent article on a Phase II in Europe of a vaccine for mCRC...Comment above about specific cancers requiring specific type of vaccaine-no one size fits all-is true....I've seen article titles pertaining to vaccines for other cancer types besides colorectal but don't generally read them thru...Only occassionally,as this morn,do i check this part of CSN......steve

    www.fiercebiotech.com/print/node/297085

    PS:today;s news should include item about vaccine for brain cancer:
    doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/hd/28333

    Vaccine for prostate already in use.......

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