Double Vaccines - A New Weapon in the Fight Against Cancer

Research staff at the UK's University of Nottingham are currently working on the creation of a new way to tackle cancer.

They're developing a double action vaccine, designed to attack both the tumour cells and the blood vessels feeding the tumour.

This unique vaccine is already halfway there. A vaccine called 105AD7 has now been used to treat over 300 patients by stimulating their immune cells to recognise and kill their own tumour cells.

Now research is centred on developing a vaccine that kills the blood cells feeding a tumour. For a tumour to grow it needs a good blood supply - cutting this supply could lead to the death of thousands of tumour cells.

Currently the vaccine targeting the blood vessels works well in model systems in the lab and will hopefully enter clinical trials in the next year. It can then be tested in combination with 105AD7.

It's too early to say how successful this new double-attack vaccine will be. It's a painstaking process of trial and error - but if the hard work of Nottingham's Research Team pays off there'll be a new "magic bullet" in the battle against cancer.