Skin Cancer Vaccine In Five Years?
Bloomberg News (11/16, Scott) reported that a “vaccine to prevent skin cancer may be ready for children within five to 10 years.” In fact, the “Australian scientist who created vaccinations for cervical cancer” has tested such a vaccine on animals.
According to Gardasil developer Prof. Ian Frazer, “it was not yet known how many skin cancers were caused by the” human papillomavirus, “a common infection which can turn abnormal cells into cancer,” AFP (11/16) added. Yet, the “new vaccine would target” human papillomavirus, and it “would be used on children aged between 10 and 12 to prevent them from developing skin cancer,” according to Frazer, who is expected to deliver “his findings to the Australian Health and Medical Research Congress on Monday.”
But “just how soon the vaccine will be made available depends on the tests,” the U.K.’s Daily Mail (11/17, Shears) notes. Prof. Frazer said, “If we get encouraging results with humans we will try and push it on as fast as we can.” He added that it is generally accepted “that papillomavirus causes at least five percent of all cancers globally — so one in 20 of the cancers that people get is caused by the infection.”
Yet, according to the Sydney Morning Herald (11/16), “Prof. Frazer said his team had found a way to turn on and off certain cells to allow the body to fight cells that had turned cancerous, or cells infected with viruses, such as papillomavirus.” He said, “We can teach the immune system the trick it needs to fight the viruses that cause these skin cancers relatively easily with a vaccine but getting them to go to the right place and do the right thing is the challenge.” The vaccine, however, would only “guard against squamous cell carcinoma…not deadly melanomas.” The Melbourne Herald Sun (11/16,Riley) and Australia’s The Age (11/17) also cover the story.