U.S. researchers say an experimental vaccine is helping some lung cancer patients live longer than expected and wiping out all signs of the disease in some cases.
Scientists at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas developed the vaccine using a patient's tumor cells to help stimulate the body's immune system.
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published results of the study on 43 patients this week. It showed some people who received the G-VAX vaccine had no recurrence of one form of lung cancer for more than three years.
One researcher, Dr. John Nemunaitis, says the results are very promising because the vaccine targeted a form of cancer that is often resistant to chemotherapy.
The cancer type - non-small cell lung cancer - is the most common form of lung cancer in the United States, and kills more than 150,000 people each year. Doctors say it is most often linked to smoking.
Researchers say in three years they hope to apply for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the vaccine.
In other studies, vaccines have also shown promise in combating skin and renal cancer.