Tag Archive for: cancer prevention

What are Cancer Vaccines?

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Approved Cancer.Net Editorial Board, 08/2020

Vaccines are medicines that help the body fight disease. They can train the immune system to find and destroy harmful germs and cells. There are many vaccines that you receive throughout your life to prevent common illnesses. There are also vaccines for cancer. There are vaccines that prevent cancer and vaccines that treat cancer.

Are there vaccines that prevent cancer?

There are vaccines that can prevent healthy people from getting certain cancers caused by viruses. Like vaccines for the chicken pox or the flu, these vaccines protect the body from these viruses. This type of vaccine will only work if a person gets the vaccine before they are infected with the virus.

There are 2 types of vaccines that prevent cancer approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

HPV vaccine. The vaccine protects against the human papillomavirus (HPV). If this virus stays in the body for a long time, it can cause some types of cancer. The FDA has approved HPV vaccines to prevent:

HPV can also cause other cancers the FDA has not approved the vaccine for, such as oral cancer.

Hepatitis B vaccine. This vaccine protects against the hepatitis B virus (HBV). This virus can cause liver cancer.

Are there vaccines that treat cancer?

There are vaccines that treat existing cancer, called treatment vaccines or therapeutic vaccines. These vaccines are a type of cancer treatment called immunotherapy. They work to boost the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Doctors give treatment vaccines to people who already have cancer. Different treatment vaccines work in different ways. They can:

  • Keep the cancer from coming back
  • Destroy any cancer cells still in the body after treatments end
  • Stop a tumor from growing or spreading

How do cancer treatment vaccines work?

Antigens, found on the surface of cells, are substances the body thinks are harmful. The immune system attacks the antigens and, in most cases, gets rid of them. This leaves the immune system with a “memory” that helps it fight those antigens in the future.

Cancer treatment vaccines boost the immune system’s ability to find and destroy antigens. Often, cancer cells have certain molecules called cancer-specific antigens on their surface that healthy cells do not have. When a vaccine gives these molecules to a person, the molecules act as antigens. They tell the immune system to find and destroy cancer cells that have these molecules on their surface.

Some cancer vaccines are personalized. This means they are made for just 1 person. This type of vaccine is produced from samples of the person’s tumor that are removed during surgery. Other cancer vaccines are not personalized and target certain cancer antigens that are not specific to an individual person. Doctors give these vaccines to people whose tumors have those antigens on the surface of the tumor cells.

Most cancer vaccines are only offered through clinical trials, which are research studies that use volunteers. In 2010, the FDA approved sipuleucel-T (Provenge) for people with metastatic prostate cancer, which is prostate cancer that has spread. Sipuleucel-T is tailored to each person through a series of steps:

  • White blood cells are removed from the person’s blood. White blood cells help the body fight infection and disease.
  • The white blood cells are altered in a laboratory to target prostate cancer cells.
  • Next, the doctor puts the altered cells back into the person through a vein. This is similar to a blood transfusion. These modified cells teach the immune system to find and destroy prostate cancer cells.

Another vaccine uses a weakened bacteria called Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) that is injected into the body. This weakened bacteria activates the immune system to treat early-stage bladder cancer.

What are the challenges of using treatment vaccines?

Making treatment vaccines that work is a challenge because:

Cancer cells suppress the immune system. This is how cancer is able to begin and grow in the first place. Researchers are using adjuvants in vaccines to try to fix this problem. An adjuvant is a substance added to a vaccine to improve the body’s immune response.

Cancer cells start from a person’s own healthy cells. As a result, the cancer cells may not “look” harmful to the immune system. The immune system may ignore the cells instead of finding and fighting them.

Larger or more advanced tumors are hard to get rid of using only a vaccine. This is 1 reason why doctors often give a cancer vaccine along with other treatment.

People who are sick or older can have weak immune systems. Their bodies may not be able to produce a strong immune response after they receive a vaccine. That limits how well a vaccine works. Also, some cancer treatments may weaken a person’s immune system. This limits how well the body can respond to a vaccine.

For these reasons, some researchers think cancer treatment vaccines may work better for smaller tumors or cancer in its early stages.

Vaccines and clinical trials

Clinical trials are key to learning more about both cancer prevention vaccines and cancer treatment vaccines. Researchers are testing vaccines for many types of cancer, including:

Bladder cancer. Researchers are testing how well a vaccine made from a virus altered with the HER2 antigen works. These antigens or molecules live on the surface of some bladder cancer tumors. The virus may help teach the immune system to find and destroy these tumor cells. Researchers also want to know which works better: standard bladder cancer treatment or standard treatment with a vaccine.

Brain tumors. There are many studies testing treatment vaccines aimed at certain molecules on the surface of brain tumor cells. Some focus on newly found brain cancer. Others focus on cancer that has come back, or recurred. Many of the studies include children and teens.

Breast cancer. Many studies are testing treatment vaccines for breast cancer, given alone or with other treatments. Other researchers are working to get vaccines that prevent breast cancer into clinical trials.

Cervical cancer. As explained above, the FDA approved HPV vaccines that prevent cervical cancer. Research continues on vaccines that help treat each stage of cervical cancer.

Colorectal cancer. Researchers are making treatment vaccines that tell the body to attack cells with antigens thought to cause colorectal cancer. These antigens include carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), MUC1, guanylyl cyclase C, and NY-ESO-1.

Kidney cancer. Researchers are testing many cancer vaccines to treat kidney cancer. They are also testing vaccines to prevent kidney cancer in its later stages from coming back.

Leukemia. Studies are looking at treatment vaccines for various types of leukemia, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Some are meant to help other treatments, such as a bone marrow/stem cell transplant, work better. Other vaccines made from a person’s cancer cells and other cells may help the immune system destroy the cancer.

Lung cancer. Lung cancer treatment vaccines in clinical trials target antigens.

Melanoma. Researchers are testing many melanoma vaccines, given alone or with other treatments. Destroyed melanoma cells and antigens in the vaccines tell the immune system to destroy other melanoma cells in the body.

Myeloma. There are many clinical trials looking at vaccines for people with multiple myeloma who are near remission. This means doctors can no longer find the cancer in the body and there are no symptoms. Researchers are also testing vaccines in people with smoldering myeloma or who need to have an autologous bone marrow/stem cell transplant.

Pancreatic cancer. Researchers are working on many treatment vaccines designed to boost the immune system’s response to pancreatic cancer cells. The vaccine may be given as the only treatment or along with another treatment.

Prostate cancer. As noted above, sipuleucel-T is a vaccine that doctors can use to treat people with prostate cancer that has spread. Now studies are looking to see if the vaccine can help people with prostate cancer at earlier stages.

Learn more about the latest research for specific cancers in this website’s guides and finding a clinical trial.

Questions to ask your health care team

If you want to learn more about joining a cancer treatment vaccine clinical trial, talk with your health care team. You may want to ask these questions:

  • Is there a clinical trial testing a vaccine for my type and stage of cancer?
  • Where is the clinical trial located?
  • What is the vaccine and how does it work?
  • How is the vaccine made? Will I need blood cells or tumor tissue removed to make the vaccine? How will you remove it?
  • How will I receive the vaccine and how often?
  • How long will I need the vaccine?
  • What side effects could occur?
  • Can I receive the vaccine with other treatments such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy?
  • What are the other treatment options for this cancer?

Related Resources

Getting Treatment in a Clinical Trial

Making Decisions About Cancer Treatment

Clinical Trials

Podcast: Should People With Cancer Be Tested for Hepatitis B?

More Information

National Cancer Institute: Cancer Treatment Vaccines

Cancer Prevention Overview (PDQ®)–Patient Version

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Cancer researcher SCOR NCORPCancer prevention is action taken to lower the chance of getting cancer. In 2020, more than 1.8 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States. In addition to the physical problems and emotional distress caused by cancer, the high costs of care are also a burden to patients, their families, and to the public. By preventing cancer, the number of new cases of cancer is lowered. Hopefully, this will reduce the burden of cancer and lower the number of deaths caused by cancer.

Cancer is not a single disease but a group of related diseases. Many things in our genes, our lifestyle, and the environment around us may increase or decrease our risk of getting cancer.

Scientists are studying many different ways to help prevent cancer, including the following:

  • Ways to avoid or control things known to cause cancer.
  • Changes in diet and lifestyle.
  • Finding precancerous conditions early. Precancerous conditions are conditions that may become cancer.
  • Chemoprevention (medicines to treat a precancerous condition or to keep cancer from starting).
  • Risk-reducing surgery.

Carcinogenesis

KEY POINTS

  • Carcinogenesis is the process in which normal cells turn into cancer cells.
  • Changes (mutations) in genes occur during carcinogenesis.

Carcinogenesis is the process in which normal cells turn into cancer cells.

Carcinogenesis is the series of steps that take place as a normal cell becomes a cancer cell. Cells are the smallest units of the body and they make up the body’s tissues. Each cell contains genes that guide the way the body grows, develops, and repairs itself. There are many genes that control whether a cell lives or dies, divides (multiplies), or takes on special functions, such as becoming a nerve cell or a muscle cell.

Changes (mutations) in genes occur during carcinogenesis.

Changes (mutations) in genes can cause normal controls in cells to break down. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells are produced when the body does not need them. The buildup of extra cells may cause a mass (tumor) to form.

Tumors can be benign or malignant (cancerous). Malignant tumor cells invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body. Benign tumor cells do not invade nearby tissues or spread.

Risk Factors

KEY POINTS

  • Factors That are Known to Increase the Risk of Cancer
    • Cigarette Smoking and Tobacco Use
    • Infections
    • Radiation
    • Immunosuppressive Medicines After Organ Transplant
  • Factors That May Affect the Risk of Cancer
    • Diet
    • Alcohol
    • Physical Activity
    • Obesity
    • Diabetes
    • Environmental Risk Factors

Scientists study risk factors and protective factors to find ways to prevent new cancers from starting. Anything that increases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer risk factor; anything that decreases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer protective factor.

Some risk factors for cancer can be avoided, but many cannot. For example, both smoking and inheriting certain genes are risk factors for some types of cancer, but only smoking can be avoided. Risk factors that a person can control are called modifiable risk factors.

Many other factors in our environment, diet, and lifestyle may cause or prevent cancer. This summary reviews only the major cancer risk factors and protective factors that can be controlled or changed to reduce the risk of cancer. Risk factors that are not described in the summary include certain sexual behaviors, the use of estrogen, and being exposed to certain substances at work or to certain chemicals.

Factors That are Known to Increase the Risk of Cancer

Cigarette Smoking and Tobacco Use

Tobacco use is strongly linked to an increased risk for many kinds of cancer. Smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of the following types of cancer:

  • Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).
  • Bladder cancer.
  • Cervical cancer.
  • Esophageal cancer.
  • Kidney cancer.
  • Lung cancer.
  • Oral cavity cancer.
  • Pancreatic cancer.
  • Stomach cancer.

Not smoking or quitting smoking lowers the risk of getting cancer and dying from cancer. Scientists believe that cigarette smoking causes about 30% of all cancer deaths in the United States.

See the following PDQ summaries for more information:

Infections

Certain viruses and bacteria are able to cause cancer. Viruses and other infection-causing agents cause more cases of cancer in the developing world (about 1 in 4 cases of cancer) than in developed nations (less than 1 in 10 cases of cancer). Examples of cancer-causing viruses and bacteria include:

Two vaccines to prevent infection by cancer-causing agents have already been developed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One is a vaccine to prevent infection with hepatitis B virus. The other protects against infection with strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause cervical cancer. Scientists continue to work on vaccines against infections that cause cancer.

See the following PDQ summaries for more information:

Radiation

Being exposed to radiation is a known cause of cancer. There are two main types of radiation linked with an increased risk for cancer:

Scientists believe that ionizing radiation causes leukemia, thyroid cancer, and breast cancer in women. Ionizing radiation may also be linked to myeloma and cancers of the lung, stomach, colon, esophagus, bladder, and ovary. Being exposed to radiation from diagnostic x-rays increases the risk of cancer in patients and x-ray technicians. Diagnostic radiation in children and adolescents has been linked with a higher risk of cancers at a young age.

The growing use of CT scans over the last 20 years has increased exposure to ionizing radiation. The risk of cancer also increases with the number of CT scans a patient has and the radiation dose used each time.

See the following PDQ summaries for more information:

Immunosuppressive Medicines After Organ Transplant

Immunosuppressive medicines are used after an organ has been transplanted from one person to another. These medicines stop an organ that has been transplanted from being rejected. These medicines decrease the body’s immune response to help keep the organ from being rejected. Immunosuppressive medicines are linked to an increased risk of cancer because they lower the body’s ability to keep cancer from forming. The risk of cancer, especially cancer caused by a virus, is higher in the first 6 months after organ transplant, but the risk lasts for many years.

Factors That May Affect the Risk of Cancer

Diet

The foods that you eat on a regular basis make up your diet. Diet is being studied as a risk factor for cancer. It is hard to study the effects of diet on cancer because a person’s diet includes foods that may protect against cancer and foods that may increase the risk of cancer.

It is also hard for people who take part in the studies to keep track of what they eat over a long period of time. This may explain why studies have different results about how diet affects the risk of cancer.

Some studies have shown that a diet high in fat, proteins, calories, and red meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer, but other studies have not shown this.

It is not known if a diet low in fat and high in fiber, fruits, and vegetables lowers the risk of colorectal cancer.

See the following PDQ summaries for more information:

Alcohol

Studies have shown that drinking alcohol is linked to an increased risk of the following types of cancers:

Drinking alcohol may also increase the risk of liver cancer and female colorectal cancer.

See the following PDQ summaries for more information:

Physical Activity

Studies show that people who are physically active have a lower risk of certain cancers than those who are not. It is not known if physical activity itself is the reason for this.

Studies show a strong link between physical activity and a lower risk of colorectal cancer. Some studies show that physical activity protects against postmenopausal breast cancer and endometrial cancer.

See the following PDQ summaries for more information:

Obesity

Studies show that obesity is linked to a higher risk of the following types of cancer:

  • Postmenopausal breast cancer.
  • Colorectal cancer.
  • Endometrial cancer.
  • Esophageal cancer.
  • Kidney cancer.
  • Pancreatic cancer.

Some studies show that obesity is also a risk factor for cancer of the gallbladder and liver cancer.

It is not known if losing weight lowers the risk of cancers that have been linked to obesity.

See the following PDQ summaries for more information:

Diabetes

Some studies show that having diabetes may slightly increase the risk of having the following types of cancer:

  • Bladder cancer.
  • Breast cancer in women.
  • Colorectal cancer.
  • Endometrial cancer.
  • Liver cancer.
  • Lung cancer.
  • Oral cancer.
  • Oropharyngeal cancer.
  • Ovarian cancer.
  • Pancreatic cancer.

Diabetes and cancer share some of the same risk factors. These risk factors include the following:

  • Being older.
  • Being obese.
  • Smoking.
  • Not eating a healthy diet.
  • Not exercising.

Because diabetes and cancer share these risk factors, it is hard to know whether the risk of cancer is increased more by diabetes or by these risk factors.

Studies are being done to see how medicine that is used to treat diabetes affects cancer risk.

Environmental Risk Factors

Being exposed to chemicals and other substances in the environment has been linked to some cancers:

  • Links between air pollution and cancer risk have been found. These include links between lung cancer and secondhand tobacco smoke, outdoor air pollution, and asbestos.
  • Drinking water that contains a large amount of arsenic has been linked to skin, bladder, and lung cancers.

Studies have been done to see if pesticides and other pollutants increase the risk of cancer. The results of those studies have been unclear because other factors can change the results of the studies.

Interventions That are Known to Lower Cancer Risk

KEY POINTS

  • Chemoprevention is being studied in patients who have a high risk of developing cancer.

An intervention is a treatment or action taken to prevent or treat disease, or improve health in other ways. Many studies are being done to find ways to keep cancer from starting or recurring (coming back).

Chemoprevention is being studied in patients who have a high risk of developing cancer.

Chemoprevention is the use of substances to lower the risk of cancer, or keep it from recurring. The substances may be natural or made in the laboratory. Some chemopreventive agents are tested in people who are at high risk for a certain type of cancer. The risk may be because of a precancerous condition, family history, or lifestyle factors.

Taking one of the following agents may lower the risk of cancer:

See the NCI website for more information about cancer prevention.

Interventions That Are Not Known to Lower Cancer Risk

KEY POINTS

  • Vitamin and dietary supplements have not been shown to prevent cancer.
  • New ways to prevent cancer are being studied in clinical trials.

Vitamin and dietary supplements have not been shown to prevent cancer.

An intervention is a treatment or action taken to prevent or treat disease, or improve health in other ways.

There is not enough proof that taking multivitamin and mineral supplements or single vitamins or minerals can prevent cancer. The following vitamins and mineral supplements have been studied, but have not been shown to lower the risk of cancer:

The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) found that vitamin E taken alone increased the risk of prostate cancer. The risk continued even after the men stopped taking vitamin E. Taking selenium with vitamin E or taking selenium alone did not increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Vitamin D has also been studied to see if it has anticancer effects. Skin exposed to sunshine can make vitamin D. Vitamin D can also be consumed in the diet and in dietary supplements. Taking vitamin D in doses from 400-1100 IU/ day has not been shown to lower or increase the risk of cancer.

The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) is under way to study whether taking vitamin D (2000 IU/ day) and omega-3 fatty acids from marine (oily fish) sources lowers the risk of cancer.

The Physicians’ Health Study found that men who have had cancer in the past and take a multivitamin daily may have a slightly lower risk of having a second cancer.

See the following PDQ summaries for more information:

New ways to prevent cancer are being studied in clinical trials.

Information about clinical trials supported by NCI can be found on NCI’s clinical trials search webpage. Clinical trials supported by other organizations can be found on the ClinicalTrials.gov website.

About This PDQ Summary

About PDQ

Physician Data Query (PDQ) is the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) comprehensive cancer information database. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries come in two versions. The health professional versions have detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions have cancer information that is accurate and up to date and most versions are also available in Spanish.

PDQ is a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the federal government’s center of biomedical research. The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. They are not policy statements of the NCI or the NIH.

Purpose of This Summary

This PDQ cancer information summary has current information about cancer prevention. It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care.

Reviewers and Updates

Editorial Boards write the PDQ cancer information summaries and keep them up to date. These Boards are made up of experts in cancer treatment and other specialties related to cancer. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made when there is new information. The date on each summary (“Updated”) is the date of the most recent change.

The information in this patient summary was taken from the health professional version, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed, by the PDQ Screening and Prevention Editorial Board.

Clinical Trial Information

A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become “standard.” Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.

Clinical trials can be found online at NCI’s website. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service (CIS), NCI’s contact center, at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

PDQ® Screening and Prevention Editorial Board. PDQ Cancer Prevention Overview. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated <02/20/2020>. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/patient-prevention-overview-pdq. Accessed <01/19/2021>. [PMID: 26389424]

 

Facebook Live Dialogue on Cancer Disparities, Prevention, and Research

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Posted: April 30, 2019

During Minority Health Month on April 18, from 12 pm -1 pm EDT, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) hosted a Facebook Live event called “A Dialogue on Cancer Disparities, Prevention, and Research.”

Many factors contribute to cancer disparities or differences in cancer outcomes. Cancer can affect all populations in the United States, but some groups may bear a disproportionate burden.

The Facebook Live event featured Worta McCaskill-Stevens, MD, MS, director of the NCI Community Oncology Research Network (NCORP), Brid M. Ryan, PhD, MPH, of the NCI Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, and Christina Dieli-Conwright, PhD, MPHExternal Web Site Policy, of the University of Southern California. They discussed cancer disparities and the work being done to help reduce them.

NCORPs have an important role in providing the opportunity for minorities to take part in clinical studies, with Minority/Underserved NCORP sites having an additional focus on underserved populations.

(source: NCORP.cancer.gov)