Recent FDA approval of initial testing on a new, individually
customized cancer treatment at Baylor Hospital in Texas could bring new
hope to the lives of millions struggling to fight the disease.
The new course of action replaces chemotherapy with a simple, monthly injection. The innovative program is a radical departure from traditional
thinking that attempted to “cure” a patient’s cancer. Instead, doctors
and researchers at Baylor’s Mary Crowley Cancer Center are focused on controlling the disease, using cells taken from the tumor growing inside a patient.
After harvesting cells from the tumor, an individualized vaccine is
created. Patients receive a monthly injection of the specialized vaccine
engineered to allow the body’s immune system to keep the cancer in
check. Doctor Maurizio Ghisoli stated, “Change from an acute deadly disease to a chronic disease, probably we do the same for hypertension or diabetes.”
“We don’t cure, but we control the disease,” Ghisoli added.
If successful, this breakthrough could mean the end of cancer
patients having to endure intense and often debilitating chemotherapy
treatments.
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