By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY The Food and Drug Administration on
Thursday approved the first vaccine to treat prostate cancer —
or any cancer — the culmination of decades of research into
harnessing the immune system to fight tumors. The $93,000
vaccine, Provenge, doesn't prevent cancer, unlike the polio shot
or recently approved vaccines that block infection with viruses
that cause most cervical tumors. Provenge also doesn't cure
cancer. But studies show that the vaccine does help men with
advanced prostate cancer live four months longer than men given
placebo shots, says Philip Kantoff of Boston's Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute, primary investigator of a study of 512 men.
After three years, 32% of men given Provenge were alive,
compared with 23% given a placebo, Kantoff says. That's a
significant benefit for men with such advanced disease, who
would otherwise live only about 22 months, he says. In
comparison, a chemotherapy drug called docetaxel — the standard
treatment for men whose tumors don't respond to hormon