Life Insurance Quotes

Smallpox vaccine proving helpful in extending life with cancer

11/08/11

Recent research conducted by scientists from the University of California-San Diego and privately held biotech company Jennerex, Inc., showed a genetically engineered smallpox vaccine may reduce the risk of death for patients with advanced liver cancer.

The vaccine, known as JX-594, reduces the risk of death by nearly 60 percent, according to the study.

The scientists involved with the study recently presented Phase 2 of the trial, which showed taking high doses of JX-594 extended the median life of patients with liver cancer to 13.8 months, compared to only 6.7 months for patients treated with only one-tenth of the vaccine.

JX-594 comes from a strain of the virus vaccinia, which was once used to vaccinate children with smallpox.

"Viruses are inherently cancer selective and tumor cells are inherently susceptible to viral attack," said Dr. David Kirn, chief medical officer of Jennerex. "We enhance selectivity by further attenuating and weakening the virus in normal tissue."

Americans might be considering how important it is to research life insurance options after the recent deaths of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and boxing legend Joe Frazier to cancer. 

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