vaccine2016 was quite a year for many reasons. One reason is that a ‘vaccine’ breakthrough may be able to cure cancer and even stop it from returning. How is this possible? Scientists are now injecting two chemotherapy drugs into tumors and finding it is kick-starting the immune system to fight back.

The breakthrough was in being able to get two established drugs into tumors by way of a third chemical that makes the walls of cancer cells more porous. It allowed for the precise targeting of these drugs as well as lower dosages. And all this could have the welcome result of reducing side effects such as hair loss and fatigue.

So far, there have been incredible results in mice, such as clearing cancer in up to 80 per cent of cases and then keeping them free of tumors.

Researchers hope that trials in people with common cancers, including bowel, breast and skin diseases, will have similar results. Trials will soon start on up to 50 patients in the US and Canada.

Amazingly, the breakthrough came not to cancer expert, but to a chemical engineer. Dr Ian Walters, of Intensity Therapeutics, the US company behind the new treatment, said to the UK Daily Mail on May 7, 2016, “Even though we are using chemo, this works on the immune system. The tumors die from the inside out. When that happens, the immune cells can ‘see’ that it’s cancer, and form an extremely powerful immune response. It’s almost a personalized vaccine.”

Wow, it’s wonderful to think that this age of so many beautiful people being taken down by cancer that one day soon we could have something as simple as a vaccine. I’m sure you join me in wishing this true for the coming year in 2017!