Lastly a Cure For Skin Cancer

A vaccine which was originally developed to combat the herpes virus attacks cancerous tumors causing skin cancer, a therapy helping patients to totally cure from melanoma, according to some American researchers, even at an advanced stage.

What has truly surprised and encouraged us was to see that this vaccine Onco VEX did not addressed only to cells that had been injected, but worked on cells in other parts of the body that we could not reach, stated Dr. Howard Kaufman from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. In other words, the vaccine triggered an immune response that spreads all through the body thanks to the bloodstream. Mr. Kaufman is now nicely ready to launch a Phase III clinical trials, which will involved 430 patients across the United States. Throughout Phase II, fifty patients with melanoma at the stage of metastasis have been vaccinated. Eight of them have totally recovered and 4 partially responded positively to the treatment.

Couple of treatment choices

There are presently only really Couple of treatment possibilities for patients with advanced melanoma cancers, and none of them are satisfactory. Consequently, oncologists are enthusiastic around the outcomes we had in phase II of our research, commented M. Kaufman. In 2008, some 4.600 Canadians have received a diagnosis of melanoma cancers, and much more than 900 individuals have died of that illness, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Around 1.2 percent of all deaths from cancer in Canada are due to melanoma. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, melanoma is not attributable to a single trigger, but some elements boost the danger of creating the illness: Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or other artificial sources of UV light; moles of irregular forms, or thicker or darker than regular moles, huge quantity of moles (over 50); light color eyes or light color hair; skin that burns simply or freckled skin; individual history or family members history of melanoma; severe sunburns Throughout childhood. In specific with the remedies provided nowadays such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy about 90 percent of melanoma circumstances are cured if treated effortlessly.

Twenty doses have to be received

When the illness is only superficial, the lesions can quickly be removed In the course of a biopsy. But if the cancer is progressing, the worse prognosis of survival are averaging from six months to 2 years. The vaccine can be injected directly into the lesion, with or without having ultrasound. This process is typically completed in the doctor's workplace and consists of numerous injections each 2 weeks for a total of 24 doses. Patients who participated in the research have been followed for 2 years right after receiving the remedies and appears to be entirely cured of the illness.