Tobacco Plants Used in Cancer Vaccine

[TZ]

Researchers from Stanford University used tobacco plants to create personalized cancer vaccines.
16 patients with a specific type of lymphoma participated in the study. Cells from their tumors were injected to special tobacco leaves. The plant cells grew and created antibodies against the tumor.
http://nwahomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=23011
Interesting concept. Be interesting to see how efficacious it is agaisnt the tumors themselves (they've only done a safety study so far)
It seems tobacco may play a role in cancer immunogenics..I have been reading about tobacco being used to produce a much cheaper version of an HPV vaccine.
This is highly ironic to say the least.

[JDPriestly]

1. This is interesting since nicotine does not necessarily cause cancer,

but it is believed to hinder the cure or remission of cancers.

Nicotine influences a key cancer pathway in cells, which may explain how it speeds up cancer growth, says a new study. The researchers believe their results may help in the design of better anti-cancer drugs.

. . . .
Rather than initiate cancer, nicotine seems to make existing cancers more aggressive, he says. Previous studies have found, for example, that breast cancer is more likely to spread to the lungs of patients who smoke than those who do not. And blocking the receptors for nicotine on the surface of aggressive cancer cells in a laboratory dish halts their growth (see Nicotine speeds the growth of lung cancers).

Cigarette smoking can nevertheless trigger the development of cancer, stresses Chellappan. By-products of nicotine and other compounds are to blame, though, rather than nicotine itself.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn9598

It is really worth reading the article I link to if you are interested in this or if you or someone you love smokes.

[tridim]

2. But the known anti-tumor benefits of Cannabis can't even be studied..

Because Cannabis is schedule I and has "No medical benefit and a high potential for abuse".

And that's just one of the many amazing medical benefits of the most useful plant on Earth. Yet it's still just like Crystal Meth and Crack because our government says so.

[KT2000]

3. More accuracy needed

Our general understanding of tobacco is kind of a mess.
Tobacco plants are one thing. They can be grown with synthetic pesticides or organically - thus resulting in different makeup.

Likewise confusing the tobacco plant with cigarettes. Some of the dangerous chemicals found in tobacco smoke are there because of additives and the pesticides the tobacco was grown with. Then the chemical effects are confounded by the burning.

[kimmerspixelated]

4. OMFG!

n/t