[Becky]

I have never really been a proponent of vaccines (as they are now) for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the trials are always set up for those that are HLA+ (having a certain genetic immunity make up) and the HLA neg people are the controls. This inherently sets up the data to seem more positive than it is since HLA+ people respond better to the regime (even though the response rate is less than a third anyway). So the data is sequed from the get go. Second, of course there is always a target so the immune system makes antibodies that will kill the cancer cells. So, in my example, we will use Her2 (as there are many vaccine trials that target that anyway). But Her2 receptors are a natural part of cells and are abundant in the heart (there just is too many of them in our bc). So, you make antibodies against Her2 and destory your heart too? Could happen. I want a vaccine that targets something cancer cells have that normal cells do not. And that gets to the heart of the matter. Your cancer cells are you. They are different but they were made by you. This is why the immune system or the immune system enhanced by a vaccine does not do a good job against the cancer. We all have some components in the immune system that cause us not to attack ourselves (although there are diseases in which we do such as lupus, MS etc - auto immune diseases) and this actually protects the cancer. I think we have alot to learn - maybe from autoimmune diseases itself, to design a vaccine that will trick certain Bcell components and actually attack just the cancer and do it well. I think it will come but it will take awhile.

The main point is that cancer is self - our horrible Mr. Hyde to our normal Dr. Jekyll.