Oncophage (vitespen) is a vaccine that may help your immune system fight cancer. This vaccine is created from cells of your own body, targeting tumor cells and not healthy ones. After the vaccine is injected the patient's immune system can then identify the cancerous cells as foreign and attack them.
Gliomas start in the brain or spinal cord tissue. They do not spread to other areas of the body but can spread throughout the nervous system. Recurrent glioma is considered incurable at the present time. A clinical trial has showed that the investigational cancer vaccine, Oncophage may improve outcomes of those diagnosed with a recurrence of glioma. The first six patients treated with Oncophage have exceeded the historical median overall survival of nearly 15 months following diagnosis.
This vaccine is also being studied and clinical trials ongoing to see if it can help other cancers as well.
