New vaccine treats prostate cancer

The FDA has approved a vaccine to treat prostate cancer. It's called Provenge and it uses the body's immune system to kill prostate cancer cells. The treatment is approved for men with advanced prostate cancer, meaning the cancer has grown beyond the prostate gland. Provenge works by boosting immune cells called white blood cells so they specifically target prostate cancer cells. Clinical studies show it increases survival by about 4 months on average. Not much, but it's a step in the right direction. Before this vaccine there were very limited options for men with advanced stage prostate cancer, including a drug that's so toxic, many men can't take it.

Othen Cancers May Be Treated As Well
Researchers are saying what's so exciting about this vaccine process is that it could potentially be used for many other cancers, like breast, bladder and kidney cancers. Cost is a problem. The treatment costs anywhere from 50 to 100 thousand dollars because every dose is custom made for each patient. Immune system cells are taken from the patient, sent to a laboratory where they're programmed to target prostate cancer cells. Once the cells are re-administered in the form of the vaccine, they recruit the immune system's cells to kill the cancer. This is a highly customized treatment which makes it a very expensive process. Side effects were minor. Some patients developed fever, chills and headaches.