But he stressed it must be confirmed by other researchers in studies that include more patients. Few cancer vaccines so far have made tumors disappear in cases where the disease has spread in the body, he said. One reason for caution is that cancers that spread from the kidney can sometimes shrink on their own, which can exaggerate the effect of therapy, he said. Another is that the strikingly high rate of tumor response in the study may not be matched in follow-up work, as has happened with other therapies, he said. Tumors disappeared in four patients and shrank to half their original size in two other patients.
Observers are cautiously optimistic but note more research is needed.
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