Kidney cancer vaccine falls short in clinical trial: study

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — A new kidney cancer vaccine failed in last-phase clinical trials to improve the odds of avoiding remission after tumour-removing surgery, according to a study released Friday.

A team of researchers led by Christopher Wood of the Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas gave the vaccine, called vitespen, to 409 patients whose cancerous tumours had been removed.

They then compared the relapse and survival rates to a second group that received no additional treatment.

The difference in outcomes was statistically insignificant, reported the study, published in the British journal The Lancet.

A large number of renal cancel patients relapse after surgery, earlier research has shown. When this happens, it is lethal -- there is no cure for...