Scientists at the University of Southern California are experimenting with a new vaccine that may be able to provide long-term protection against prostate cancer. Current testing on lab mice finds that mice genetically predisposed to the disease can recieve life-long protection if they are vaccinated shortly after birth.
The vaccine works by stimulating an immune response against the prostate stem cell antigen, which is overly expressed in prostate cancer. During studies, mice who were 8 weeks old and already showing cancer lesions were injected. By their first birthday, 90% of the injected mice were still alive while all of the control mice had either died or developed large tumors.
