Research Paper

Christian Hernandez

Prof. Tichy-Smith

Composition II 802 (22457)

04/23/18

The Future Cancer Cure

Introduction

This chart represents the projected number of new cancer cases expected to be diagnosed (“Cancer Prevention and Control”, 2016).

From the 2018 annual report on cancer facts and figures, an estimated number of 1,735,350

new cases of cancer will be diagnosed as well as 609,640 deaths from cancer in the United States

(American Cancer Society, 2018). This number of patient cases and deaths are quite enormous

and cannot be overlooked. Fortunately, a team at Stanford is working tirelessly to revolutionize

how doctors and hospitals in the healthcare industry utilize treatment in curing cancer. This is

through the introduction of cancer vaccine. The vaccine contains just two chemical agents and

has been tested and proven to cure 87 of the 90 mice that were used in the clinical trial. This is

extraordinary because the vaccine seems to be more than 95% efficient.

Furthermore, cancer is such an impenetrable malignant disease meaning that it can spread

into or invade nearby tissues. On the other side cancer immunotherapy is a form of cancer

treatment that uses specific parts of the immune system of an individual to fight cancer. Many

immunotherapy and chemotherapy treatments available in the market are associated with many

downsides that range from side effects that are difficult to handle to lengthy preparations for

treatment as well as period of treatment and relatively high costs of treatment (Conger, 2018).

However, the cancer vaccine only requires one-time application of small amounts of the vaccine

to stimulate the immune cells within the cancer tumors only (Conger, 2018).

Therefore, the main objective of this report is to inform hospitals and doctors about

vaccination as a new form of treatment of cancer. Thus, the doctors and hospitals are the

intended audience for this report. To achieve this, the cancer vaccine will be further examined so

as to determine if it is better and safer than the existing treatments which include immunotherapy

and chemotherapy. The research is guided by the research question, “Is cancer vaccine the future

of cancer cure”.

The main point of this report is that with the many flaws and shortcomings experienced by

the use of other cancer treatments such as immunotherapy and chemotherapy, it is time for

hospitals and doctors to consider cancer vaccine as the future cancer cure. Therefore, the topic

will help convince the audience in putting the matters discussed in the report into action. This

topic will also help other researchers or beneficiaries of this report on easy access of the

information contained in the report.

This report will be organized into sections so as to help the user easily identify the ideas he

or she is looking for. The major sections will be the introduction that gives a highlight of what

the report is all about, the main body that includes the definition of the topic and some key terms,

background of the topic, research methodology, literature review, summary of research results,

discussion of the research results, possible solutions or predictions, conclusion and

recommendations and lastly the reference page for the works cited.

Definition

This photo represents how the cancer vaccine works when injected in the cancer cells. (Beitsch).

The topic “The Future of Cancer Cure” is mainly concerned with how cancer vaccine can

be adopted by hospitals and doctors as the new cancer cure to replace the existing cancer

treatments including radiation therapy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy and et cetera. Cancer

vaccine is a vaccine that is administered either to prevent development of a cancer or to treat an

existing cancer. Cancer describes a group of diseases that involve abnormal growth of cells with

the potential of invading or spreading to other body parts. It's possible signs and symptoms

include abnormal bleeding, lump, unexplained loss of weight, prolonged cough and change in

movements of bowels. Major causes and risk factors of cancer include smoking of tobacco,

eating poor diet, obesity, lack or inadequate physical activity, certain infections and excessive

consumption of alcohol (Yarbro et al., 2020).

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that boosts the natural defense of the body to

fight cancer by using substances of the body immune system or those made in the laboratory to

improve or restore the functions of the immune system. It works in a number of ways which may

be slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells, helping the immune system to more

effectively destroy cancer cells or stop the spread of cancer to other body parts. Similarly,

chemotherapy is the method of cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells

in the body either by stopping their division or killing the cancer cells. It may be administered

through the mouth, infusion or injection or on the skin. This depends on the type and stage of the

cancer being treated. In most circumstances, it is given alongside other treatments such as

radiation therapy, surgery and immunotherapy. This brings us to radiation therapy which

involves use of high-energy radiations from gamma rays, x-rays, protons, neutrons among other

sources to kill cancer cells and shrink cancer tumors. The radiation may originate from machines

on the outside of the body or radioactive materials placed within the body close to the cancer

cells.

Background

For the past years, more than ninety million people have been diagnosed with different

types of cancers and around nine million people have been reported to die because of cancer

which is 15% of deaths. Each and every year, more than fourteen million new cases of cancer

occur. The most common types of cancer that have been experienced by males include lung

cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and stomach cancer, while females mostly experience

breast cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer and colorectal cancer. Inclusion of skin cancer in the

total new cancers every year would increase the percentage to up to forty percent of new cancers

every year.

In the history of cancer, brain tumors and acute lymphoblastic leukemia are very common

in children and five years ago, around 165,000 kids aged below 15 years were diagnosed with

different types of cancers. Cancer risks significantly increases with age and occurrence of most

cancers are common in the developed countries. In the past decade, cancer has been associated

with huge financial costs which is estimated to be more than one trillion US dollars every year

hence making cancer management a very costly program especially investments in

chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation therapy machines (Yarbro et al., 2010).

Cancer has been associated with various causes in the past such as genetic mutations from

environmental factors and inherited genetics. Environmental factors are those factors related to

lifestyle, behaviors and economy. They include smoking of tobacco which causes around 25 to

30% of cancer deaths, poor diet and obesity which accounts for 30-35%, both ionizing and non-

ionizing radiations that account for up to ten percent, infections, pollution, lack of physical

activity and stress. Therefore, it is important to use all the necessary means possible to fight and

treat cancer. In most cases, immunotherapy and chemotherapy have been used. However, most

of these treatments that are used in the market are associated with various downsides with

regards to their side effects and the cost and time involved in preparation and the actual

treatment. Therefore, the healthcare industry needs to adopt a more efficient method of treatment

to overcome the downsides that have been previously experienced.

Research Methodology

The research was conducted through conducting library searches as well as internet

searches to obtain the secondary data to back up the findings of this report. I visited the

university library to perform a search on the library sources on the literature relating to cancer

and its treatments. Search was also performed through several library databases including The

New York Public Library and the Kansas City Public library databases. A general search on the

internet was also conducted so as to find more articles and publications that are relevant to the

topic of study.

Specific criteria were followed during the internet searches to ensure that the sources

found were valid. Only those articles and publications that were directly related to cancer,

treatment of cancer and cancer vaccine were selected as they were perceived to be of high

relevance to the topic under research. Apart from just having the direct relationship to the topic

of the research, the sources must have critical findings that will be able to expand the base of the

argument in the research. Hence, major considerations were given to those articles that critically

explained the topic of the research.

Literature Review

According to Cancer Facts and Figures (2018), there are increasing cases of new cancer

case and deaths which are estimated to keep rising in the future. The survival statistics of those

with cancer is very minimal as those diagnosed with cancer averagely survive for five years.

Conger (2018) in “Cancer vaccine eliminates tumors in mice” asserts that Ronald Levy of

developed a cancer vaccine that eliminates tumor cells. Dr. Levy’s method involves activation of

the cancer-specific T cells in tumors by injecting microgram amounts of two immune-stimulating

agents into the solid tumor cites in mice directly. This was found to eliminate all cancers in the

animals as well as the distant untreated metastases. The two agents are CpG oligonucleotide

working with other immune cells nearby to amplify the expression of an activating receptor

known as OX40 on the T cell’s surface. The other agent is the antibody binding to the OX40 that

activates the T cells to direct the charge against the cancerous cells (Conger, 2018). The

researchers believe that this approach works for various types of cancers including those that

spontaneously arise. This cancer vaccine is considered special from the other immunotherapies

because the T cells are pre-screened to identify certain types of cancer proteins in the body of the

patient. The vaccine is a special product that is able to do many things in future more so when it

is proven to be tested in humans. To prove the functionality of the cancer vaccine, a clinical trial

was done in 90 mice and 87 of them were successfully cured with only three with recurring

cancer cells Conger, 2018). The research team at Stanford is making efforts to take this to

another level by using patients with low-grade lymphoma to demonstrate if the outcome in the

mice is the same in humans (Futurism, 2018).

Immunotherapy treatments describe the go-to cancer treatments that are more effective but

less aggressive as compared to treatments such as radiation therapy. Most people are unaware

that immunotherapies such as CAR T-cell therapy often used for different types of leukemia and

lymphoma involves the removal of immune cells from patient’s body, manipulating them and

returning them back to the body (“Cancer “vaccine” that wipes out tumors ready for human

trial”, 2018). Therefore, immunotherapies can have side effects that are generally costly and only

work with specific types of cancers. Patients sometimes fail to go for immunotherapies because

they can barely afford it or because the length of time involved is very long, hence they resort to

radiation therapy.

According to the article on “Side Effects of Radiation Therapy” (2018), it effectively treats

many types of cancer and is relatively cheaper and faster. However, just like other treatments, it

often causes side effects and some of them are long-term because it involves use of high doses of

radiation therapy to destroy the cancer cells. The long-term side effects may include or result to

the development of second cancer in the long run (“Side Effects of Radiation Therapy” 2018).

However, the cancer vaccine is more affordable and faster as compared to immunotherapies and

also replaces radiation therapy as a substitute and will most probably become a first choice in

future for treatment of cancer.

Summary of Research Results

Basically, the main finding of the research was that use of cancer vaccine is more

beneficial with very limited disadvantages. Use of cancer vaccines is faster, safer and affordable

than other cancer treatments.

Another finding is that when Immunotherapy treatments are successfully used, the cancer

may less likely to return. However, it was also found that this treatment comes with many side

effects including the patient might have a bad reaction, it may rev up the patient’s immune

system, it can harm organs and systems, it takes a lot of time during preparation and treatment

and it is also expensive.

Regarding chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments, it was found that they are

relatively cheaper as compared to immunotherapies hence preferred by most cancer patients. But,

these treatments are also associated with a number of side effects that include skin problems,

fatigue, long-term side effects and problems in the neck and head, chest, stomach and abdomen,

pelvis and sexual problems for both men ad women.

Discussion of Research Results

The researchers have proven that the cancer vaccine is very efficient in the mice clinical

trial. Cancer vaccine is less toxic hence safer, can also be afforded by many people since the cost

is expected to be low and since it only involves administration of just small amounts of the

agents, it will be very fast and will be unlikely to cause the adverse side effects often experienced

when other methods of treatment that involve immune stimulation of the body are used.

Immunotherapy treatment currently holds a lot of promise in the treatment of cancer

because after immunotherapy, the immune system learns to attack cancer cells in case they ever

come back and could help a patient stay cancer-free for quite a long time. However, it also come

with so many risks. The patient might have a bad reaction especially when the medication goes

into the body, it could hurt or itch. In some cases, when the immunotherapy revs up the immune

system, the patient could develop a feeling of flu, fever, chills, fatigue, weight gain from the

excess fluids and diarrhea among other side effects. Some of the drugs used during the process

can also cause the immune system to go after the liver, heart, kidney or even lungs hence causing

damage to the organs. In addition, immunotherapy does not work for everybody, not even half of

people who go for it, hence it is so unsafe. Lastly, an individual to access the treatment, you have

to part with a lot of money.

Most people who receive radiation therapy often experience itching, dryness, peeling or

blistering of the skin depending on the body part radiated. They also tend to feel tired or

exhausted like all the times. The treatment is also associated with long-term side effects which

may include development of a second cancer. There are other side effects that often depend on

the part of the body that is exposed to radiation. Therefore, the patient may experience difficulty

in swallowing, nausea, jaw stiffness, lymphedema, dry mouth, shortness of breath, diarrhea,

rectal bleeding, bladder irritation and erectile dysfunctions and lower sperm counts in men and

infertility, change in menstruation and menopause symptoms in women.

Possible Predictions

With the discovery of the problems associated with the current treatment methods for

cancer patients, there is hope that cancer vaccine can provide a better treatment for people

suffering from cancer. First, if the human clinical test of the vaccine will be successful, the

cancer vaccine will offer a cheaper, faster and safer cancer treatment. Secondly, the cancer

vaccine will be able to provide a method of preventing the development of cancer cells in the

human body.

Conclusion and Recommendations

In conclusion, according to “Cancer Facts & The War On Cancer.” SEER Training:

Cancer Facts & The War On Cancer”, n.d., a new cancer is diagnosed in the United States after

every thirty seconds and two people die of cancer after every three minute. The prevalence of

cancer has been increasing and is expected to keep rising even in the future. Also, the existing

treatments such as the immunotherapies and radiation therapies are associated with so many side

effects that in some cases worsens the situation in the long run still leaving a high death toll of

cancer patients. Compared to the named types of treatments, cancer vaccine is more affordable

and faster hence can be more efficient and effective for cancer treatment.

Therefore, after completion of the research on the effectiveness of cancer vaccine alongside

other available treatments for cancer, I recommend that doctors and hospitals around the world to

take notice and adopt the vaccine in the future if the human clinical trial becomes successful.

This is because, cancer vaccine will be able to provide a safer, cheaper and faster treatment. It

will also involve low toxicity of the body during treatment and there is a high potential for a

durable treatment effect that will enable the patient live a normal life for very many years. I also

recommend it because it will prevent the development of cancer cells among the vaccinated

population hence reducing the future prevalence of cancer diseases.

References

Photo of cancer diagnosis chart. “Cancer Prevention and Control.” Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 Mar. 2016,

www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/research/articles/cancer_2020.htm.

“Cancer Facts & Figures 2018”. “American Cancer Society, HYPERLINK

"http://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistic/all-cancer-facts-figures/cancer-

facts-figures-2018.html" www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistic/all-cancer-facts-

figures/cancer-facts-figures-2018.html

“Cancer Facts & The War On Cancer.” SEER Training: Cancer Facts & The War On Cancer.

Cancer.gov.training.seer.cancer.gov/disease/war/

Conger, Krista. “Cancer “vaccine” eliminates tumors in mice.” News Center,

med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/01/cancer-vaccine-elimantes-tumors-in-mice-html

Photo of cancer vaccine. Beitsch, Peter. “Breast Cancer Vaccines – Back to the Future.” Breast

Care Network, 13 May 2017, www.breastcarenetwork.com/news/breast-cancer-vaccines-

back-to-the-future/.

“Cancer “vaccine” that wipes out tumors ready for human trial.” Futurism, 2 Feb. 2018,

HYPERLINK "http://www.futurism.com/cancer-vaccine-wipes-out-tumors-ready-

human-trial/" www.futurism.com/cancer-vaccine-wipes-out-tumors-ready-human-trial/

“Side Effects of Radiation Therapy.” Cancer.Net, 19 Jan. 2017, HYPERLINK

"http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/radiation-

therapy/side-effects-radiation-therapy" www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-

cancer-treated/radiation-therapy/side-effects-radiation-therapy

Yarbro, CH., Wujcik, D. & Gobel, B.H. (2010). Cancer Nursing: Principles and Practice.

Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp. 901-905.