Vax for range of cancers may be available in 5 years

A vaccine that has shown to be effective against breast, bowel and cervical cancers is being tested on some patients and may be available in about five years. The vaccine, which is being developed by Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CLDX) and Middlesex University, tells the immune system to destroy a hormone called hCG. The hormone is normally present only during pregnancy, but is also made by about half of patients who have bladder and pancreatic cancer, as well as some people who have breast, bowel, ovarian and cervical tumors, NY Daily News reports.

Animal tests have already demonstrated 'extremely good' results and preliminary trials on people show it to be safe, the U.K.'s Daily Mail notes. The jab is now being given to 60 patients with newly diagnosed with bladder cancer.

Cancer Council South Australia chief executive Professor Brenda Wilson says the council would follow the trial's results. "Although this is a promising approach, there's a long way to go before we can definitively say that this vaccine will help save lives," she told Aidelaidenow.

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