@isoboto
“I had tumors throughout my neck, in my lungs, I was really really ill,” said Cassidy.
...
That’s when Bauman offered her the option of joining her clinical trial. It’s a treatment tailored specifically to the patient. Their cancer cells are used to develop a personalized vaccine that teaches their immune system how to recognize and destroy their cancer.
According to the university, to identify the patient-specific mutations of the cancer, mutated DNA from the patient’s tumor is simultaneously sequenced with healthy DNA from the patient’s blood. Computers compare the two DNA samples to identify the unique cancer mutations.
The results are used to develop a set of genetic instructions that are loaded onto a single molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA) and made into a vaccine. These instructions teach immune cells such as T-cells – white blood cells that help protect against infection – how to identify and attack the mutated cancer cells.
“It’s a medicine that is individualized, personalized, and is not one size fits all,” said Bauman.
Cassidy began the series of 9 shots of her specific vaccine and for the first time things were improving.
