Hello everyone! 

I recently stumbled upon an article relating to a cancer vaccine that was developed by a group of engineers, scientists, and clinicians from Harvard University and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This vaccine is designed to help treat Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The article compares the original vaccines with the vaccine that they have developed and how it will benefit patients. 

The article explains how most cancer vaccines today require doctors to remove immune cells from a patient's body and "reprogram" these cells. After this doctors will then reintroduce the immune cells into the body. The new vaccine that Harvard University and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute personnel have developed uses a "small disk-like sponge" composed of polymers. The article states that these polymers are "FDA-approved". The sponge is implanted under a patient's skin and will gather a patient's own immune cells. The immune cells will then be instructed to attack cancer cells and kill them.

A study was done with mice to test the effectiveness of this vaccine. The study found that 50 percent of the mice treated with the vaccine would have otherwise died within 25 days without treatment. Right now the group's purpose is to go through Phase I clinical trials. The results seem great for mice, now we need proof that the vaccine will also work well for humans. The phase I study is expected to be done sometime during the year 2015. 

I found this article very interesting because the group of people who helped develop this vaccine involved a large number of bioengineers. It is inspiring in a way and certainly makes me want to study cancer closely.  

URL: http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2013/09/cancer-vaccine-begins-phase-i-clinical-trials