Cancer vaccine: how far are we from curing cancer?

Although cancer treatment has developed considerably in the 21st century, there are still 8–9 million people dying of this disease each year. One strategy, using a patient's own immune system to combat their cancer, has recently led to a significant improvement in survival rates. The concept of immunotherapy is not new; as far back as 1893, William Coley reported tumour regression following repeated injections of bacterial toxin from Streptococcus pyogenes in a patient with advanced sarcoma. Over 100 years later, the use of cancer vaccine has come a long way, with a better understanding of the immune system's interaction with the tumour microenvironment.