Every year millions of people die due to cancer. Cancer and its risk factors have been seen in all people, be it men or women, children or the elderly. Lung and prostate cancer cases are most commonly reported in men while breast-ovary and cervical cancer cases are most commonly reported in women.
Data shows that in the year 2022, the mortality rate from cancer among women worldwide was 76.4 per one lakh people. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women, while cases of ovarian cancer and cervical cancer are steadily increasing.
However, relief news is coming in the direction of reducing the risk of cancer in women. According to researchers at the University of Oxford, the world's first vaccine for ovarian cancer is being developed in the UK. Scientists hope that the vaccine can help eliminate the risks of this deadly disease.
If this vaccine is successful in the tests, then millions of deaths caused by ovarian cancer every year can be prevented.
Vaccine for ovarian cancer
The team of scientists has named this vaccine 'OvarianVax'. According to experts, this vaccine will be given to women as a preventive measure against cancer. It has been modeled in the same way as the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer.
According to reports, the vaccine is being manufactured in such a way that the body's immune system catches ovarian cancer in the beginning and stops or destroys the cancer cells from growing.
The vaccine will recognize cancer cells.
Giving information about the OvarianVax vaccine, Dr. Ahmed Ahmed, Director of the Ovarian Cancer Cell Laboratory at Oxford University, said, this vaccine will act as a cellular target. The team of scientists is trying to understand which proteins can be on the surface of cancer cells in the initial stage, and which the vaccine can detect most quickly. In the next stages, work will be done on targeting those cells through the vaccine, which can cause cancer.
What do scientists say?
Dr. Ahmed says, if the vaccine is successful, its results can be seen within the next five years. These vaccines can help reduce this major risk to health at the global level. Our goal is to eliminate this cancer, hopefully, this vaccine can give very good results in this direction. However, we still have a long way to go.
The goal of the vaccine is to boost the immune system to recognize more than 100 proteins on the surface of ovarian cancer.
The risk of ovarian cancer is increasing in India too
Ovarian cancer is a cause of serious concern in many cases. It is the third most common cancer in Indian women. Since there is no specific screening test for this cancer and the symptoms can also be similar to other stomach diseases, this is the reason why it is not diagnosed on time.
Dr David Crosby, head of research at Cancer Research UK, said that it may take many years for any potential vaccine to be ready for widespread use. The team of scientists is optimistic about this vaccine, it is hoped that in the coming years, we can get success in reducing ovarian cancer.
(PC: Freepik)
