The vaccines are still in early development, but if tests are successful, they could help prevent one of the most common forms of cancer among women.
The vaccine, called OvarianVax, would train the immune system to recognize and combat the earliest stages of ovarian cancer — a disease often not detected until its later stages when it becomes more challenging to treat.
Scientists at the University of Oxford are working on the world’s first ovarian cancer vaccine, aiming to prevent a disease that kills nearly 26,000 women annually in the European Union (EU), Gabriela Galvin reported for Euronews.
The vaccine, called OvarianVax, would train the immune system to recognize and combat the earliest stages of ovarian cancer — a disease often not detected until its later stages when it becomes more challenging to treat.
The vaccine will target women with genetic mutations that increase the risk of ovarian cancer.
Currently, some women with these mutations opt for surgery to remove their ovaries and fallopian tubes to prevent the cancer, but this procedure leaves them unable to have children.
"We need better strategies to prevent ovarian cancer," said Dr. Ahmed Ahmed, an Oxford gynecological oncologist and head of the OvarianVax project.
"Teaching the immune system to recognize the very early signs of cancer is a tough challenge," he added. "But we now have highly sophisticated tools that give us real insights into how the immune system identifies ovarian cancer."
Comments