For the past 30 years, researchers have been looking into the potential of vaccines to treat ovarian cancer. Vaccines are a promising future treatment for ovarian cancer. Although they are still at the clinical trial phase, they may someday be used to prevent the progression of ovarian cancer.

卵巢癌影响卵巢，一对位于骨盆两侧的小型杏仁形器官。它是女性最常见的癌症之一 超过20,000人 每年新案例。它还占每年更多的死亡人数而不是任何其他女性生殖系统癌症。

卵巢癌poses treatment challenges. It is difficult to detect and may be at an advanced stage when diagnosed. The overall survival rate after 5 years is less than 50 percent 那according to 2019 research. But this varies by stage at diagnosis.

卵巢癌vaccines should not be confused with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which protects against HPV.

Keep reading to learn about the vaccines currently in development for ovarian cancer, and how they differ from the HPV vaccine.

目前有数十个卵巢癌疫苗在各种发展阶段。一种 2020 review 确定了42例在卵巢癌疫苗上公布的临床试验。其中一些如下所述。

请记住，新的药物治疗必须至少进行三个阶段临床试验before they can be approved for the public by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

树突细胞疫苗

Dendritic cells (DCs) are a critical part of your immune system. They patrol their surroundings to identify threats, known as antigens. When an antigen — for instance, a cancerous cell — is detected, DCs activate a targeted immune system response to eliminate it.

树突细胞疫苗harness the power of DCs to kill tumor cells. The goal is typically to prevent tumor growth, known asmaintenance therapy。Researchers are studying most DC vaccines in combination with other treatments, such as chemotherapy.

Studies assessing the use of DC vaccines date back to 2000. According to a2021 review那the majority of DC vaccine trials conducted to date have not made it past phase 2.

One reason for this is that ovarian cancer tumors have been shown to negatively affect DC function and metabolism, making them less effective. Additional challenges include preparing the vaccines and selecting the right antigens for individual patients.

目前正在开发中的更多技术，如个性化抗原。2021次审查的作者在上面引用的结论是，随着这些技术的使用，DC疫苗仍然表现出缓慢或停止卵巢癌肿瘤生长的潜力。

CTA vaccines

癌症睾丸抗原（CTA）是在睾丸中活性的蛋白质。几种肿瘤，包括卵巢癌，也表现出活性CTA。CTA疫苗有助于产生靶向和禁用CTA的免疫应答。

迄今为止发布的临床试验专注于使用称为NY-ESO-1的CTA蛋白质。2020审查表明该蛋白质存在于此 40 percent 卵巢癌的人。但截至2020年，仅发布了CTA疫苗的四阶段1阶段临床试验。

这 研究 表明CTA疫苗接种刺激免疫系统反应。这种反应可以稳定肿瘤生长和延长存活。

一种ccording to another2020 review，肿瘤有许多功能限制CTA疫苗的有效性，包括避免免疫系统检测和抑制免疫系统活性的能力。

这authors suggest using NY-ESO-1 vaccines in combination with other cancer therapies to increase their effectiveness.

一种current phase 1 clinical trialis doing just that. It combines anNY-ESO-1 vaccine withnivolumab那an immunotherapy drug. Results are expected in 2023.

Protein- and peptide-based vaccines

这se vaccines work in a way similar to both DC and CTA vaccines, targeting other antigens known to play a role in tumor growth. Some of the antigen proteins that have been evaluated in clinical trials include:

  • 人类表皮生长因子受体2 (HER2) /不u
  • p53
  • WT1
  • folate receptor alpha

Several clinical trials have reported promising results. For instance, the authors of a2013 phase 2 trialof a WT1 peptide vaccine for gynecological cancers reported no cancer progression in 40 percent of participants.

In addition, a 2018年第1阶段临床试验 of a folate receptor alpha vaccine for breast and ovarian cancer found that all participants were alive 2 years after vaccination.

截至2022年，研究focuses on:

  • using multiple proteins in a single vaccine to boost the immune response
  • customizing vaccines to target tumor-specific antigens
  • combining therapies to increase effectiveness

Recombinant viral vaccines

重组病毒疫苗使用病毒载体技术来提供一种或多种抗原。反过来，这些抗原刺激消除癌细胞的免疫应答。

Between 2006 and 2012, several studies of recombinant viral vaccines for ovarian cancer reported modest results. Some appear not to have made it past the pilot phase.

最近的一个 2018阶段1试验 with 11 participants investigated the effectiveness of a p53 antigen vaccine used in combination with the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine for ovarian cancer.

这authors reported that the immune system response generated by the treatment was associated with longer progression-free survival. However, several people could not complete the study due to gemcitabine side effects.

截至2022年，a phase 2 trialfeaturing a p53 recombinant viral vaccine and the chemotherapy drug pembrolizumab was actively recruiting participants.

HPV是一种常见的性传播感染。根据疾病控制和预防的中心（CDC）， 85 percent 人们将在终生中合同HPV。

HPV.doesn’t usually cause noticeable symptoms. But it can lead to health complications over time, including certain cancers.

HPV疫苗与其他疫苗相同。它含有非常少量的病毒，刺激您的免疫系统以产生抗体。如果您以后接触到HPV，您的免疫系统已经准备抗击感染。

By preventing an HPV infection, the vaccine also protects against与HPV相关的癌症那including:

  • anal cancer
  • cervical cancer
  • mouth cancer
  • 阴茎癌
  • 咽喉癌
  • 阴道癌
  • 外阴癌症

这HPV疫苗can only protect against cancers associated with HPV. The link between HPV and ovarian cancer is unclear, with past studies showing conflicting results.

一种2021 analysisof 29 studies published between 1989 and 2020 estimated the prevalence of HPV in 2,280 people with ovarian cancer. The authors found that the number of people with HPV varied significantly across different studies, with researchers in certain regions more likely to detect a link between HPV and ovarian cancer. They concluded that more high quality studies are needed.

目前，如果HPV疫苗有任何可能预防卵巢癌的可能性。

一种ccording to the CDC 那there is no evidence to suggest that the HPV vaccine causes reproductive problems such asprimary ovarian insufficiency (POI)那infertility, or cancer.

Vaccines undergo rigorous testing both before and after they are made available to the public. Side effects are reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) 。

VAERS received 20 reports 在2009年至2017年期间在美国施用约9000万HPV疫苗后的POI。

一种fter investigating these reports, the CDC determined that only two had been confirmed by a doctor. The remaining 18 instances were based on unsubstantiated second-hand reports. They concluded that the HPV vaccine is unlikely to cause POI.

这 World Health Organization (WHO) also investigated public concerns about the HPV vaccine, POI, and infertility. They concluded that there was no data to support a causal relationship.

一种dditional studies have reported similar results. For instance, a 2021 cohort study 丹麦996,300名女孩和女性发现没有证据表明HPV疫苗接种导致卵巢衰竭。

卵巢癌is one of the most difficult cancers to detect and treat. Vaccines currently in development may one day be used alongside other treatments to prevent disease progression.

卵巢癌疫苗与HPV疫苗不同。通过防止HPV感染，HPV疫苗可防止与HPV相关的生殖癌症的发育。这些包括宫颈和肛门癌症。

如果您正在寻求卵巢癌的治疗，您可以在国家医学图书馆中了解更多有关正在进行的临床试验Clinical Trials Database。