Cancer vaccines
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines are a type of immunotherapy that boosts the body's natural defenses to fight cancer. They are designed to either prevent cancer from developing or to treat existing cancer.
Pronunciation
Can-cer Vac-cines
Etymology
The term "cancer" comes from the Latin cancer meaning "crab", due to the crab-like spread of an invasive cancer. "Vaccine" comes from the Latin vaccinus meaning "from cows", as the first vaccines were developed from cowpox to immunize against smallpox.
Types of Cancer Vaccines
There are two main types of cancer vaccines: Preventive (prophylactic) vaccines and Treatment (therapeutic) vaccines.
- Preventive (prophylactic) vaccines are given to healthy individuals to keep cancer from starting. An example is the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine which prevents infection with HPV types that are associated with several types of cancer.
- Treatment (therapeutic) vaccines are given to individuals with cancer to boost the body's immune response against cancer cells. An example is the Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) vaccine, which is used to treat advanced prostate cancer.
Related Terms
- Immunotherapy
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine
- Sipuleucel-T (Provenge)
- Prostate Cancer
- Cervical Cancer
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Cancer vaccines
- Wikipedia's article - Cancer vaccines
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