Adding a cancer treatment vaccine to the standard treatment
improved survival for children with neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma
is a type of cancer that starts in the nerve cells of infants
and young children and is difficult to treat. This type of
cancer vaccine is also called immunotherapy because it helps the
body's immune system fight cancer. This study showed that
children who received the immunotherapy were 20% more likely to
be alive or not have a recurrence (return of the cancer after
treatment) after two years. The most common side effects were
pain, vascular leak syndrome (a build-up of fluid in the body),
and allergic reactions. What this means for patients “Even
though we treat it with aggressive therapy, high-risk
neuroblastoma often returns and most patients do not survive,”
said lead author Alice Yu, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatric
Hematology/Oncology at the University of California and the UCSD
Moores Cancer Center in San Diego. “It is very exciting to have
a new treatment option for this disease