Cancer Vaccine Blocks Multiple Tumors in Mice For 250 Days

A new vaccine can effectively prevent multiple types of cancer , with up to 88 percent efficacy for some forms of tumor in mouse tests.

Like a vaccine designed to prevent or reduce illness from viral infections , this cancer vaccine works by training the immune system to attack tumors when they next appear.

Nanoparticles in the vaccine present a recognizable component of cancer cells as an antigen – a label that alerts our immune cells to a threat. A second material, described as a 'super' adjuvant , further stimulates the immune system to go on the offensive.

In the first tests, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst vaccinated a group of mice with nanoparticles containing melanoma peptides, before exposing the test animals to melanoma cells a few weeks later.

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