More than a century ago, New York surgeon William Coley, M.D., proposed treating cancer with vaccines that turn the immune system against malignant cells (Am. J. Med. Sci. 1893;105:487–510). That was a new concept because clinicians usually give vaccines to prevent diseases, not treat the ones patients already have. Scientists have been trying to generate cancer vaccines ever since, but with limited success. Tumors throw up defenses to evade the immune system, and T cells—the vaccine-triggered immune cells that kill invaders in the body—often can’t distinguish cancerous cells from normal ones.

中文翻译：

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个性化癌症疫苗在临床上的进展

一个多世纪以前，纽约外科医生威廉·科利（William Coley）提出用疫苗治疗癌症，这种疫苗可使免疫系统抵抗恶性细胞（美国医学杂志1893； 105：487-510）。那是一个新概念，因为临床医生通常会提供疫苗来预防疾病，而不是治疗患者已有的疫苗。从那以后，科学家一直在尝试生产癌症疫苗，但取得的成功有限。肿瘤会引发防御，以逃避免疫系统，而T细胞（疫苗触发的免疫细胞杀死人体内的入侵者）通常无法将癌细胞与正常细胞区分开。