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CancerQuest > Introduction to Patient Information > An Introduction to Cancer Treatments > An Introduction to Tumor Vaccines > Prostate Cancer Vaccines

Prostate Cancer Vaccines

The first prostate cancer vaccine to be approved is sipuleucel-T (Provenge®).  This autologous cell vaccine was approved on April 29, 2010 for the treatment of melanoma that no longer responds to hormonal treatments.⁽¹⁾ The vaccine was developed by Dendreon.

In this treatment, a patient's own cells are removed and exposed in the laboratory to proteins from prostate cancer cells.  The idea is to 'train' the cells to attack cancer cells that have that same protein on them. Three days after their removal, the patient's cells are returned to their body.⁽²⁾

There are numerous other prostate cancer vaccines being studied in clinical trials.

View a list of clinical trials for prostate cancer vaccines (NCI).

References for this page:

1. FDA Approves Provenge for Prostate Cancer. Accessed 10/17/2010 [http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/CellularGeneTherapyProducts/ApprovedProducts/ucm213556.htm]
2. Kantoff PW, Higano CS, Shore ND, Berger ER, Small EJ, Penson DF, Redfern CH, Ferrari AC, Dreicer R, Sims RB, Xu Y, Frohlich MW, Schellhammer PF; IMPACT Study Investigators. Sipuleucel-T immunotherapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 2010 Jul 29;363(5):411-22. [PUBMED]