A Quest for a Cancer Vaccine

Just as our immune system kicks into gear to fight off the cold or flu, it can also mount a defense against cancer, but typically isn’t strong enough to defeat it. Mingnan Chen, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Utah, is developing a system to boost our body’s own defenses that he anticipates could one day become the basis for a cancer vaccine. He and graduate student Peng Zhao describe their approach, recently published in Theranositcs, their progress, and its advantage over other therapeutic strategies.