Bellicum’s prostate-cancer vaccine: Dendritic cells served with a genetic twist
For a few brief months earlier this year, Dendreon’s Provenge looked like it might become the first cancer vaccine approved by the FDA, despite some iffy data supporting its effectiveness. The fate of Provenge now hangs in the balance following the FDA’s controversial decision to ask for additional data. But that hasn’t stopped Bellicum Pharmaceuticals from trying to improve on the work of its forbear.
(One quick note: Merck’s Gardasil and similar vaccines, which are frequently… Continue Reading
No immunity for Dendreon’s cancer vaccine
(UPDATED: See below.) For almost two months, it has seemed that the FDA might be ready to approve an entirely new attack on cancer — a “cancer vaccine” that immunizes patients with tumor fragments in order to activate the body’s immune defenses against cancerous cells.
That dream suffered a major setback earlier today, when the FDA threw up a fresh roadblock to the approval of Dendreon’s Provenge, the first such cancer vaccine to go before the agency… Continue Reading
How not to write about cancer diagnostics
Last week, a Johns Hopkins research team reported positive results from an experimental diagnostic for prostate cancer, leading to a fair bit of excitement and media attention. The first story I noticed was an effusive report in the Washington Post, although the test results — published in the journal Urology (no link available, although the abstract is here) — also led to stories in the LA Times, the CBS Web site and USA Today.
The gist was… Continue Reading