Cancer Research UK: OvarianVax vaccine to ‘teach’ immune system to fight ovarian cancer

Scientists at the University of Oxford are creating OvarianVax, a vaccine which they hope will teach the immune system to recognize and attack the earliest stages of ovarian cancer, according to Cancer Research UK.

Ovarian cancer is considered one of the most dangerous forms of cancer among women. According to statistics, two-thirds of patients die within a year of diagnosis.

There are around 7,500 new ovarian cancer cases every year in the UK, making it the sixth most common cancer among women in the country.

As part of the fight against this disease, UK scientists have developed the OvarianVax vaccine. They analyzed the proteins found in the early stages of cancer cells and identified the proteins that best activate the immune system and effectively destroy tumor cells in laboratory conditions. The OvarianVax works on these proteins and "teaches" the immune system to fight cancer on its own.

The scientific team noted that OvarianVax's mechanism of action is similar to that of the human papillomavirus vaccine, which is expected to help eradicate cervical cancer.

Currently, the respective laboratory research is in the final phase. Once completed, the scientists will move on to human clinical trials. They want to test this vaccine first on women with a high genetic risk of ovarian cancer.