Study: Tetanus shot may aid treatment of deadly brain cancer

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By MALCOLM RITTER

NEW YORK (AP) — Can a tetanus shot help treat brain cancer? A small study hints that it might.

A dose of tetanus vaccine let patients live longer when added to an experimental treatment for the most common and deadly kind of brain tumor, researchers report.

It "put the immune system on high alert," paving the way for the experimental treatment to work better in attacking the disease, said researcher Kristen Batich of the Duke University Medical Center.

In a paper released Wednesday by the journal Nature, she and others describe a study of 12 patients. Some who got the tetanus shot lived years longer than those who didn't.

FULL story at link.



Sandy Hillburn poses for a photo in her apartment in Fort Lee, N.J., on Tuesday, March 10, 2015. In April 2006, when she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common and deadly kind of brain tumor, she recalled, "I was told I had two to three months to live." But she was offered a slot in an experimental study involving adding the tetanus-diphtheria vaccine to an experimental treatment for glioblastoma. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150311/us-med--brain_cancer-tetanus-07ff010366.html

[pnwmom]

1. Wow. This is exciting. Glioblastoma is the kind of brain cancer Ted Kennedy had.

The prognosis is pretty terrible, so any time this vaccine can add would be wonderful for the people involved.

[csziggy]

4. And my sister, too

Though she passed away years before this treatment was even thought of, in 1993.

It would be wonderful if this works! Even if it "only" gives the patients another ten years, it would be such a boon. My sister was given a three month prognosis and we thought it was great that she lived 18 months with experimental treatment. With another ten years she could have seen her sons live to almost be adults rather than dying when they were still just young children.

[appalachiablue]

2. Very interesting, all hope for the patients with this cancer.

[LiberalArkie]

3. I hope so, I got my TDAP and Shingles inoculation last week

[Sienna86]

5. Reminds of the recent HBO/Vice show on vaccines used in treating cancer

Really cutting edge research going on. Amazing stuff.

[proverbialwisdom]

6. K&R