Researchers at Chiba University in Japan have successfully eliminated cervical cancer cells in mice using a vaccine designed to stimulate the immune system.
Each year, about 10,000 women in Japan are diagnosed with cervical cancer. Standard treatments, including surgery and radiation, can cause long-term side effects and increase the risk of infertility or miscarriage.
Led by Nakahashi Rika, Specially Appointed Associate Professor at Chiba University Hospital, the team developed the vaccine using a substance derived from the human papillomavirus, the primary cause of cervical cancer.
Administered nasally, the vaccine activates immune cells that attack cervical cancer cells. In experiments with mice, it effectively destroyed cancer cells. Subsequent tests in monkeys confirmed that the vaccine could induce immune cells to reach the cervix.
The researchers published their findings in a U.S. scientific journal and hope the vaccine could offer a treatment alternative that avoids surgery and radiation.
Nakahashi stated that after confirming the vaccine’s effectiveness in animals, the team plans to begin human trials with the goal of making the therapy widely available.
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