Therapeutic Vaccine For Brain Tumors.

Researchers at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center have developed an experimental immunotherapy that may prolong the life of patients with gliomas, a common form of brain cancer. The researchers worked with newly diagnosed gliobastoma multiforme patients. Blood cells were taken from the patients, purified and grown in the laboratory in the presence of proteins found at high levels on some cancer cells. When the cells were put back into the patients, they helped to create a reaction against the cancer cells that helped the patients fight the disease. The tests are ongoing but gave very promising results in this study of sixteen patients.