Skin Cancer Vaccines Now Exist — Here's What You Need to Know
By Sarah Kinonen. Photo by: Getty Images.
Between the possibility of DNA-based sunscreen formulations and the invention of hands-free SPF application booths, it's safe to say that sun protection has come a long way within the last few years. And now, according to a recent report published in Nature, you may soon be able to protect your skin from sun damage via vaccine.
The vaccines (yes, there are two — formulated in the U.S. and in Germany) referenced in separate studies in the report, were given to patients in the midst of recovery from melanoma-removal surgeries due to the antibiotics ability to fight against infectious diseases (i.e. cancer cells) and to counter skin cancer tumor growth. However, both vaccines do so in two very different routes. For the U.S. vaccine, researchers formulated custom antibiotics, which accelerated T-cell production in the immune system to attack skin cancer cells. Out of the six participants, four didn't experience relapse. While the tumor grew back in the two other participants, after receiving an immune system-boosting treatment, the patients experienced "complete remission."
As for the German team, researchers created a proprietary vaccine with RNA. Out of 13 participants, eight had no visible tumors at the time of vaccination — and remained tumor-free more than a year following — while five of the participants' tumors spread. On the bright side: Two patients experienced shrinking tumors (while one mass grew back), and one participant ended the treatment completely devoid of cancer after bring treated with a PD-1 inhibitor.
"It's potentially a game-changer," Cornelis Melief, a cancer immunologist at Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands and author of the report, tells Nature. "The two papers really strongly indicate that the patients experienced clinical benefit."
The findings are innovative, says Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, tells Allure. "Most of our skin cancer treatments work from the outside in, either cutting them out or scraping them away," he says. "However, the latest generation of cancer treatments actually work from the inside out, giving the immune system a kick in the right direction to fight off the cancerous cells."
But, says Elizabeth Tanzi, founder and director of Capital Laser & Skin Care and associate clinical professor in the department of dermatology at the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., it could take up to years for the "true value of the vaccine to be seen.....Although the vaccines are very promising for skin cancer, that shouldn't give people a 'pass' to get too much sun exposure because that will always accelerate skin aging," she tells Allure. "There is no vaccine to stop skin aging!"
In the meantime, both Zeichner and Tanzi recommend continuing to be safe in and around the sun. This, most obviously, means slathering on your daily SPF shot glass — of at least SPF 30, per the American Academy of Dermatology (and Allure editors) — as well as reducing your sun exposure, wearing hats when outdoors, and getting annual skin checks — even if the entire process is a little, well, awkward. "Being naked for the doctor for 10 minutes can safe your life," says Zeichner. "If a skin cancer is detected early enough, it can be cured."
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This story originally appeared on Allure.
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