The vaccine is designed to boost the immune system's response against brain cancer by exposing the antigens, or specific proteins, that brain tumors produce. Each tumor produces several antigens that may be recognized by the immune system.
Although the immune system can identify and attack bacteria, viruses and tumors, it does not recognize all brain tumor antigens.
When the immune system does not detect these antigens, it can mistake the insidious cancer cells for normal cells and ignore the cancer cells instead of attacking them.
But when the immune system has a way to recognize the antigens, the cancer cells are vulnerable to immune attack. To make the vaccine, researchers used an antigen known to be recognized by the immune system. The antigen was partnered with a common form of bacteria, called Listeria monocytogenes.
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/62/8/2287
Taken from KNBC-TV "OnTheVerge" Sept, 18 2007
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