In a world first, scientists have successfully eliminated tumors in mammals using a cancer vaccine carried into the body on a fingernail-sized implant. The new approach uses plastic disks impregnated with tumor-specific antigens and implanted under the skin to reprogram the mammalian immune system to attack tumors.

Most cancer cells easily skirt the immune system, which operates by recognizing and attacking invaders from outside the body. The approach developed by bioengineers and immunologists at Harvard University redirects the immune system to target tumors, and appears both more effective and less cumbersome than other cancer vaccines currently in clinical trials.

Conventional cancer vaccinations remove immune cells from the body, reprogram them to attack malignant tissues, and return them to the body. However, more than 90 percent of reinjected cells die before having any effect in experiments.

The slender implants developed by the group measure 8.5 millimeters in diameter and are made of an FDA-approved biodegradable polymer. Ninety percent air, the disks are highly permeable to immune cells and release cytokines, powerful recruiters of immune-system messengers called dendritic cells.

These cells enter an implant’s pores, where they are exposed to antigens specific to the type of tumor being targeted. The dendritic cells then report to nearby lymph nodes, where they direct the immune system’s T cells to hunt down and kill tumor cells.

“Inserted anywhere under the skin – much like the implantable contraceptives that can be placed in a woman’s arm – the implants activate an immune response that destroys tumor cells,” said David J. Mooney the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering in Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering who led the research.

Read more . . .

Related articles by Zemanta

• Vaccine implant ‘kills tumours’ (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Implant-based cancer vaccine is first to eliminate tumors in mice (scienceblog.com)
• A Cancer-Fighting Implant (technologyreview.com)

Related posts:

1. Conquering cancer with implants? Bioengineered vaccines and magnetic nanodiscs show promise
2. Tumors Feel The Deadly Sting Of Nanobees
3. Nanosized drug delivery systems take a leap forward
4. Nano-bio Material Kills Cancer Cells, Leaves Healthy Cells In Unharmed
5. Tiny glitter-sized photovoltaic cells could revolutionize solar power

Tags: antigens, biodegradable polymer, cancer cells, cancer implant, cancer vaccine, cancer vaccines, dendritic cells, fingernail-sized implant, immune cells, immune response, mammalian immune system, t cells, tumor cells

This entry was posted on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 9:37 am and is filed under Cutting-edge Research, Health, Innovation, Medicine, gizmag. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.