Vaccine that either treats existing cancer or prevents development of cancer
This article is about therapeutic cancer vaccines. For preventive cancer vaccine, see Cancer immunoprevention.
A cancer vaccine, or oncovaccine, is a vaccine that either treats existing cancer or prevents development of cancer.[1] Vaccines that treat existing cancer are known as therapeutic cancer vaccines or tumor antigen vaccines. Some of the vaccines are "autologous", being prepared from samples taken from the patient, and are specific to that patient.
Some researchers claim that cancerous cells routinely arise and are destroyed by the immune system (immunosurveillance);[2] and that tumors form when the immune system fails to destroy them.[3]
^Babu RA, Kumar KK, Reddy GS, Anuradha C (2010). "Cancer Vaccine : A Review". Journal of Orofacial Sciences. 2 (3): 77–82. doi:10.4103/0975-8844.103507 (inactive 1 November 2024). S2CID68256825.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)