GWsublime
GWsublime t1_iska3b3 wrote
Reply to comment by Wiggie49 in The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer by AdmiralKurita
No, our immune system can and does fight cancer, usually very successfully. Unfortunately it can be too slow and when it is you get to a point where the immune system can't keep up or can't access the cancerous tissue
GWsublime t1_isk9or9 wrote
Reply to comment by Wiggie49 in The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer by AdmiralKurita
They do, yes. The mutations that, allow the cells to divide also cause conformatuonal changes. Thats what cancer vaccines target (as do some existing therapies) when the article speaks of triple negative breast cancer it's referring to breast cancer where three surface proteins usually targeted by conventional therapies are absent.
GWsublime t1_isjxvns wrote
Reply to comment by grimtrigger86 in The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer by AdmiralKurita
Right but there's a significant difference. No, you can't target cell growth, that kills the human. Yes you can target uncontrolled cell growth as long as that comes along with some sort of conformational change.
GWsublime t1_isjx514 wrote
Reply to comment by grimtrigger86 in The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer by AdmiralKurita
That's what they are working on in this article and they seem to have a target. Cancer isn't cell growth its uncontrolled cell growth cause by damage to the systems that regulate that. Specific types of damage could and probably do result in specific conformal changes. Also, the immune system often does recognize and kill cancerous cells without any external input so there is definitely something to target.
GWsublime t1_isjvrr5 wrote
Reply to comment by grimtrigger86 in The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer by AdmiralKurita
Yeah vaccine would be the right description. A vaccine for a certain kind of breast cancer would be training the immune system to recognize and respond to a surface protein unique to that cancer in the same way that a vaccine for, say, mumps trains the immune system to recognize and respond to a surface protein unique to paramyxoviruses.
GWsublime t1_isjur1v wrote
Reply to comment by mcscom in The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer by AdmiralKurita
Nothing, but this isn't that
GWsublime t1_isjuq9l wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer by AdmiralKurita
That's not how vaccines work
GWsublime t1_isjuntn wrote
Reply to comment by Dapaaads in The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer by AdmiralKurita
I'll bite, what do you think the difference is?
GWsublime t1_iskhhi4 wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer by AdmiralKurita
Cite that please. Unless treatment fails I'm not aware of any chemotherapy that you need to be on for the rest of your life.