[Linkpost] “introduction to cancer vaccines” by bhauth

LessWrong (Curated & Popular)

This is a linkpost for https://www.bhauth.com/blog/biology/cancer%20vaccines.html cancer neoantigens
For cells to become cancerous, they must have mutations that cause uncontrolled replication and mutations that prevent that uncontrolled replication from causing apoptosis. Because cancer requires several mutations, it often begins with damage to mutation-preventing mechanisms. As such, cancers often have many mutations not required for their growth, which often cause changes to structure of some surface proteins.
The modified surface proteins of cancer cells are called "neoantigens". An approach to cancer treatment that's currently being researched is to identify some specific neoantigens of a patient's cancer, and create a personalized vaccine to cause their immune system to recognize them. Such vaccines would use either mRNA or synthetic long peptides. The steps required are as follows:

1. The cancer must develop neoantigens that are sufficiently distinct from human surface proteins and consistent across the cancer.
2. Cancer cells must [...]

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First published:
May 5th, 2024
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xgrvmaLFvkFr4hKjz/introduction-to-cancer-vaccines
Linkpost URL:
https://www.bhauth.com/blog/biology/cancer vaccines.html
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