Pancreatic cancer vaccine trialled

A new pancreatic cancer vaccine trial is attempting to stimulate the immune system into fighting cancer.

The traditional approach of vaccines prevents infection, but the new vaccine works by encouraging the body to recognise telomerase, a protein which is overproduced by cancerous cells, therefore enabling it to target tumours.

The trial is run by TeloVac, sponsored by Cancer Research UK, and includes over 1,000 patients with pancreatic cancer at 53 hospitals. The vaccine is administered in regular doses in combination with chemotherapy and compared to results from treatments only involving chemotherapy.

Cancer Research UK's chief clinician Professor Peter Johnson said: "One of the big

problems with cancer treatment is you are almost always left with a few malignant cells and it is from those few cells that the cancer can regrow.

"If you can programme the immune system to recognise those cells and get rid of them altogether or keep them in check then you can effectively stop the cancer from growing back lifelong."