Clinical Efficacy of TroVax in the Treatment of Progressive Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer

With approximately 240,890 new cases expected in 2011, prostate cancer remains the leading cause of non-melanoma cancer deaths in men. Immunotherapies using viral vector-based delivery systems targeting tumor-specific antigens are being studied. Viral vector-based delivery systems present tumor-targeted antigens (TAAs) to the immune system while breaking self-tolerance. Modified vaccinia ankara has been combined with the oncofetal antigen 5T4 to create TroVax for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The 5T4 antigen is highly expressed in a large number of carcinomas, including prostate cancer, but is rarely expressed in healthy tissue. TroVax has been demonstrated to be safe and highly immunogenic, both as monotherapy and in combination with other standard of care therapies in colorectal, renal cell, and prostate cancer. With minimal side effects and the ability to produce a strong immunogenic response, TroVax (MVA-5T4) is a viable addition to the treatment of prostate cancer

Investigation of Living Cells in the Nanometer Regime with the Scanning Force Microscope

Membrane structures of different types of cells are imaged in the nanometer regime by scanning force microscopy (SFM). The images are compared to those obtained with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SFM imaging can be done on the outer cell membrane under conditions that keep the cells alive in aqueous solutions. This opens up the possibility of observing the kinematics of the structures that determine the interaction of a cell with its environment. Therefore, STM observations, together with information obtained with the electron microscope, open up new ways of studying the development of biological structures. With the currently possible resolution, the SFM gives access to processes such as antibody binding or endo- and exocytosis, including processes correlated to the infection of cells by viruses