Could a vaccine prevent colon cancer in Lynch syndrome patients?

Scientists are testing something that once sounded like science fiction: a vaccine to stop colon cancer before it starts.

The research, first reported by the Associated Press, focuses on people with Lynch syndrome — an inherited condition affecting roughly 1 in 279 people that raises the risk of colorectal and other cancers. Rather than preventing infection, the way a flu shot does, these experimental vaccines aim to train the immune system to recognize and destroy precancerous cells before they become tumors.

Early results are promising. In a study out of MD Anderson Cancer Center, 45 Lynch carriers who received a vaccine developed by Swiss biotech Nouscom showed fewer precancerous growths and no advanced polyps a year later, according to the AP. At least two other vaccines, including one using mRNA technology, are also in early testing.

Dr. John Marshall, a Georgetown University oncologist and adviser to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, called the findings encouraging. "Can we even further stimulate the immune system" to outpace Lynch syndrome-driven tumor growth? he asked. "This early paper suggests that yeah, maybe we can."

It's still early. Larger trials are needed before any of these vaccines could become widely available. But for people living with a hereditary cancer risk, it's a genuine reason for hope.

Learn more about how cancer prevention vaccines work via the National Cancer Institute. 

Originally reported in the Associated Press. Read the full story.