Ovarian cancer vaccine: Can it prevent recurrence?

Research continues in the development of a number of vaccines designed to prevent the recurrence of ovarian cancer. So far, ovarian cancer vaccines are available only in clinical trial studies.

One theory behind ovarian cancer vaccines is that they stimulate the immune system to attack any cancer cells that reappear after initial treatment has been completed. Vaccines under study include abagovomab and oregovomab.

Surgery followed by chemotherapy remains the standard primary treatment for ovarian cancer. One aspect of ovarian cancer vaccine research includes examining how best to use these vaccines in combination with chemotherapy.

Although research has shown that vaccines have compared favorably with the use of chemotherapy to prevent recurrent ovarian cancer, these studies have involved only small numbers of participants. More and larger studies are needed to further evaluate the potential role that vaccines may play in preventing recurrent ovarian cancer.