FDA approves first vaccine to treat cancer

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first vaccine to treat cancer, a drug called Provenge that patients and researchers in Hampton Roads had a hand in investigating.

Provenge is a vaccine that stimulates the body's immune system to fight cancer cells. Dr. Paul Schellhammer, a urology professor at Norfolk's Eastern Virginia Medical School, was an investigator in the clinical trials the FDA reviewed in approving the vaccine.

Schellhammer has studied the vaccine for more than a decade, and about 40 local patients participated in clinical trials to gauge its safety and effectiveness.

In an interview earlier this week, Schellhammer said the approval would open the door to cancer treatments that are not as brutal on the body as chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.

While vaccines are generally thought of as preventive, Provenge is a therapeutic vaccine made from the patient's own white blood cells. The cells are removed from the patient, treated with the drug and infused back into the patient. The treated cells then cause an immune response, which kills cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed.

Provenge was developed by Seattle-based Dendreon Corp., which conducted initial studies among men with advanced prostate cancer who had already failed standard hormone treatment.

The vaccine extended life by about four months, although some lives were lengthened by two to three years. The only side effects were mild flu-like symptoms, according to the study results.

The treatment is gaining worldwide attention because it is the first vaccine to treat cancer and could lead to immune-based therapies for other cancers as well.

Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com