For centuries,therapeutic cancer vaccines have been developed and tried clinically.Way back in the late 19th century,the Father of Immunotherapy,William Coley had discovered that bacterial toxins were effective for in...For centuries,therapeutic cancer vaccines have been developed and tried clinically.Way back in the late 19th century,the Father of Immunotherapy,William Coley had discovered that bacterial toxins were effective for inoperable sarcomas.In the 1970s,the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin(BCG)vaccine was repurposed,e.g.,for advanced melanomas.Then,therapeutic cancer vaccines based on tumorassociated antigens(found on the surfaces of cancer cells)were tried clinically but apparently have not made a really significant clinical impact.For repurposed pathogen vaccines,only the BCG vaccine was approved in 1989 for local application to treat nonmuscle-invading bladder cancers.Although the mildly toxic vaccine adjuvants deliberately added to conventional pathogen vaccines are appropriate for seasonal applications,when repurposed for continual oncology usage,toxicity may be problematic.In 2010,even with the approval of sipuleucel-T as the very first cancer vaccine(dendritic cell)developed for designated prostate cancers,it has also not made a really significant clinical impact.Perhaps more"user friendly"cancer vaccines should be explored.As from approximately 30 years ago,the safety and effectiveness of mRNA vaccination for oncology had already been studied,the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic,though disastrous,has given such progressively advancing technology a kickstart.For oncology,other virtues of mRNA vaccines seem advantageous,e.g.,rapid and versatile development,convenient modular design,and entirely cell-free synthesis,are being progressively recognized.Moreover,mRNAs encoding various oncology antigens for vaccination may also be tested with the combination of relatively non-toxic modalities of oncology treatments,e.g.,metformin or metronomic(low-dose,prolonged administration)chemotherapy.Admittedly,robust clinical data obtained through good quality clinical trials are mandatory.展开更多
Immunotherapy is now commonly prescribed to cancer patients,but autoimmune-related adverse events are considerable.For severe,life-threatening side effects,cessation of therapy seems unavoidable,let alone intensive me...Immunotherapy is now commonly prescribed to cancer patients,but autoimmune-related adverse events are considerable.For severe,life-threatening side effects,cessation of therapy seems unavoidable,let alone intensive medical care required for patching up the adverse events.Even without serious adverse events,the response rates are too low and various combinatory regimens have been tried.However,toxicities are also added on,unless the adjuvant agents have remarkably few side effects.Actually,micronutrients are usually taken by a majority of cancer patients as nutritional support or to boost the immune function,let alone hoping to counteract treatment side effects.Recent studies have shown that combinations of micronutrients exert pleiotropic effects in controlling tumor growth and metastasis by modulating the tumor microenvironment,enhancing gut microbiota immune functions,and providing adjunct nutritional support to micronutrient deficient cancer patients.A higher than recommended dietary allowance micronutrient dose is proposed to reduce the toxic free radicals generated as a result of immunotherapy and tumor metabolism.This is not only helpful for managing treatment side effects but also enhancing treatment efficacy.As micronutrient supplementation is also useful to improve patients’quality of life,prolong survival,and sustain compliance to immunotherapy,further investigations are mandatory.展开更多
文摘For centuries,therapeutic cancer vaccines have been developed and tried clinically.Way back in the late 19th century,the Father of Immunotherapy,William Coley had discovered that bacterial toxins were effective for inoperable sarcomas.In the 1970s,the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin(BCG)vaccine was repurposed,e.g.,for advanced melanomas.Then,therapeutic cancer vaccines based on tumorassociated antigens(found on the surfaces of cancer cells)were tried clinically but apparently have not made a really significant clinical impact.For repurposed pathogen vaccines,only the BCG vaccine was approved in 1989 for local application to treat nonmuscle-invading bladder cancers.Although the mildly toxic vaccine adjuvants deliberately added to conventional pathogen vaccines are appropriate for seasonal applications,when repurposed for continual oncology usage,toxicity may be problematic.In 2010,even with the approval of sipuleucel-T as the very first cancer vaccine(dendritic cell)developed for designated prostate cancers,it has also not made a really significant clinical impact.Perhaps more"user friendly"cancer vaccines should be explored.As from approximately 30 years ago,the safety and effectiveness of mRNA vaccination for oncology had already been studied,the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic,though disastrous,has given such progressively advancing technology a kickstart.For oncology,other virtues of mRNA vaccines seem advantageous,e.g.,rapid and versatile development,convenient modular design,and entirely cell-free synthesis,are being progressively recognized.Moreover,mRNAs encoding various oncology antigens for vaccination may also be tested with the combination of relatively non-toxic modalities of oncology treatments,e.g.,metformin or metronomic(low-dose,prolonged administration)chemotherapy.Admittedly,robust clinical data obtained through good quality clinical trials are mandatory.
文摘Immunotherapy is now commonly prescribed to cancer patients,but autoimmune-related adverse events are considerable.For severe,life-threatening side effects,cessation of therapy seems unavoidable,let alone intensive medical care required for patching up the adverse events.Even without serious adverse events,the response rates are too low and various combinatory regimens have been tried.However,toxicities are also added on,unless the adjuvant agents have remarkably few side effects.Actually,micronutrients are usually taken by a majority of cancer patients as nutritional support or to boost the immune function,let alone hoping to counteract treatment side effects.Recent studies have shown that combinations of micronutrients exert pleiotropic effects in controlling tumor growth and metastasis by modulating the tumor microenvironment,enhancing gut microbiota immune functions,and providing adjunct nutritional support to micronutrient deficient cancer patients.A higher than recommended dietary allowance micronutrient dose is proposed to reduce the toxic free radicals generated as a result of immunotherapy and tumor metabolism.This is not only helpful for managing treatment side effects but also enhancing treatment efficacy.As micronutrient supplementation is also useful to improve patients’quality of life,prolong survival,and sustain compliance to immunotherapy,further investigations are mandatory.
